Love Me Till the End
by AvionVadion
Summary: When someone dies, they stay dead, but Alex apparently is an exception to that rule. When a specific person dies, they're taken and swapped with their "Other Half". Alex happened to be switched with a girl named Akari after getting hit by a vehicle. Forced to join the Host Club by Kyoya, she is made to work as a Hostess while attending the prestigious Academy. KyoyaxOC
1. Almost like another World

**Summary: **_When someone dies, they stay dead, but Alex apparently is an exception to that rule. When a specific person dies, they're taken and swapped with their "Other Half". Alex happened to be switched with a girl named Akari after getting hit by a vehicle. Forced to join the Host Club by Kyoya, she is made to work as a Hostess while attending the prestigious Academy. _

_However life is not all it seems when it's revealed that she's in a place completely familiar to her, yet completely different at the same time. Living with a pair of twins is a hassle enough, especially since it's a world far different from her own despite the constant similarities. _

_Befriending the Hosts and the Shadow King himself, she finds herself fearing death and the fact that it always comes so soon. She deals with the fear of being forgotten, but as time grows on, she wants to be forgotten... _

_Remembering only brings more pain. Attachments makes things worse. Truth is a harsh reality everyone deals with, but no one ever wants to stare it straight in the face, do they?_

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting.**

Carrying a stack of books in her arms, a girl about fifteen placed them on the counter, checking them out. The Librarian looked down at the girl and smiled, saying,

"Finished already?"

"Yup," Was the girl's replied, a casual smirk slipping onto her pale face. "Almost didn't want to finish them, 'cause then I'd be done with 'em." The librarian lady laughed at the younger girl's response, shaking her head.

"You-I really don't know what to say," She replied, placing a book on another stack. "You are probably the only child-teenager," She corrected, but the girl took no offense, merely grinning, "who even _likes _to read."

"I don't like it," The girl replied with a frown, only to break out in a huge grin, "I _love _it." Her dark brown eyes, covered by a thick pair of dark glasses, caught sight of a certain book and the librarian noticed. A knowing smile grew on her aged face as she held it out,

"It's your birthday, right? Here, you can have it."

"Wh-What?" The girl was surprised as the librarian forced the manga book into her hands, "I-I can't-don't, I mean, don't-don't you, well, is-is this even-I-Are you ever _allowed _to give books away?" A smirk grew on the librarian's face, the glasses threatening to fall off of her nose,

"Didn't I just give one away?" The girl opened her mouth to reply, only to close it, and thought for a moment, before saying,

"...Touche." She laughed and held the manga to her chest, "Thanks, Mrs. Hopper."

"No problem, Alex, dear." Mrs. Hopper, the librarian replied. Her blue eyes shimmered with knowledge and her gray hair was tied up into a neat bun, her bangs framing her forehead. "Anything for a old friend."

"Ah, you're not that old!" Alex, the girl, replied with a small wave as she walked towards the doors, grinning widely. "You're still young, I mean, that man that came here yesterday? He was staring at you for hours!" Mrs. Hopper laughed as Alex walked out, the young girl's giggles echoing through the library.

"Happy fifteenth birthday, Alex!"

"Thanks!" Was the final response before Alex walked out, closing the door softly behind her.

...

Alex was humming "Lost One's Weeping" as she walked down the sidewalk, fully intent on getting home and reading her newly given manga, Ouran High School Host Club. Isolating herself in her room, music blaring, cats scratching at her door and just not talking to anyone-yeah, that was the life. She quickly switched songs to "Happy Birthday" and began to sing softly,

"Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday, dear Alex, happy birthday to me!" She laughed slightly and squealed slightly looking at her manga book as she did a little twirl, ecstatic. "Best, birthday...ever!" She declared, knowing that she was exaggerating-"Okay, not really, but you get the point," She mumbled, talking to herself with a grin. She gasped when she was suddenly roughly shoved aside, stumbling into the driveway. She narrowed her eyes, pushed up her glasses, and stood up straight, whirling around to glare at a man wearing a beanie and a dark green jacket, running. "What the hell was that for!?" She demanded, angered.

The man seemed to ignore as he turned a corner. She huffed and headed in the same direction, her house unfortunately being on that lane, only to hear an elderly woman cry out.

Alex's grip tightened on the book as she tensed, anger and hesitation hitting her. Alex, believe it or not, was a rather cautious person, and rather hesitant-even if she appeared confident. She took a step forwards, than backwards, before deciding, _Oh, what the hell, _and ran forwards, turning the corner and catching sight of the man who pushed her, struggling to yank a purse out of an old woman's hands. The old woman was surprisingly strong. Alex charged, raising her book manga book high, and slamming it down onto his head, causing him to growl and let go. The old woman backed up as the man turned to sock Alex in the face, who shrieked and quickly ducked, shouting,

"Sorry!" And made a weak attempt to kick at him, getting him in the shin, but not doing that much damage.

"You're gonna pay for that punk!" The man growled, reaching into his jacket, just as Alex shouted,

"Run, random person!" _Okay, not the best of lines, but whatever-Oh, shit. _Alex instantly knew that she was done for when he pulled out the gun. Alex, being the spontaneous person she was-threw her new book at him, being great at aim, hit him in the face and causing him to misdirect and shoot , just barely grazing her face. Alex's breathe hitched and she froze still with shock, realizing just how _close _she had come to death.

Realizing she had to make a move before she actually _did _die, she stumbled over her feet and walked backwards into the street, eyes wide as the man threw the book onto the ground and stomping on it, before kicking it away. Alex, paused in her walking, and cried out offended, "My book! I just got that for my freaking birthday, you know!"

The man look up, positioning his gun at her head, said with a sick grin, "Happy birthday, then, punk." And cocked the gun, ready to pull the trigger, when the sounds of a horn blaring rang in their ears and Alex barely had time to turn her head before she heard the sickening _crunch _and pain flaring through her body. She felt something warm splatter against her before all went black and she knew no more.

...

"Stop!" A boy with red hair and amber eyes cried out as they neared the girl standing in the middle of the road, the limo not slowing down in time and the girl's body slamming harshly into the side, crashing into the windshield before rolling over the roof of the car and crashing onto the hard, blacktop cement of the ground, cuts and injuries in multiple places.

"What the hell-!?" A boy, who was just as identical to the first, only with bangs parted to the right, cried out in alarm. Did they just_ hit _someone? The chauffeur finally managed to halt the limo and the first boy slammed the door open and ran out, alarmed as he ran to see if the person was still alive.

He and his brother were cursing profusely at they ran towards the girl. "Shit, is she dead?"

"Is that even a _she_?" The second questioned, earning a glare from the first. The first boy grabbed the girl's limp arm and lifted it up, and placed two fingers on her-non-bloody- wrist to check her pulse. The horror and fear on his face quickly went to relief, only to fear again. "Is she dead or not?"

"We need to get her to the hospital!" The first exclaimed, moving to pick up the girl, who groaned in pain as she entered consciousness.

"...Am I-" The girl coughed and slight blood came out of her mouth, "Am I dead?" Her voice was hoarse and her eyes were red, both with blood from when her glasses broke and cut around her eyes, and from the tears that were forming from the intense pain she was feeling.

"Nope, no, no, not at all-you're fine. You're perfectly fine," The first was panicking, while the second just stood there, unsure of what to do. "We're going to get you to a hospital and-"

"Shit, okay, well-uh, Kaoru, I'll the chauffeur."

"Hikaru, we need to hurry!"

The girl's face went into one of confusion, her bottom lip sticking out slightly as her eyebrows furrowed eyes squinting-not that she wasn't already, "Hika-Hikaru? Kao...ru?" The names rang a bell, she just couldn't place it. Not to mention, everything was looking strange, though that could be because she might have a concussion. Definitely wasn't a dream though-she was in way too much pain. The girl tried to sit up and cringed, letting out a small shout of pain as she wrapped her arms around her stomach-she whimpered, tears streaming down her scraped cheeks, "I-I-I..." She bit her lip, trying to hold back the sob and squeezed her eyes shut. It hurt. It hurt _so much_.

"Birthday girl's got a friend, huh?" Her breathing was labored, her hearing and vision was fading in and out, but she recognized it. How could she _not_? The man almost _killed _her for god's sake! There was the cocking of a gun, "And he's rich, too. Better than some old lady."

Kaoru almost cursed at himself-he and his brother _finally _managed to leave the house in a limo, _without _a bodyguard, and on the same day they run over a girl who couldn't be more than twelve and now he has a gun pointed in his face? What luck.

The girl brushed Kaoru's hands off of her and struggled to stand, pain flaring throughout her entire body in protest. Her legs felt like jello, her sides were killing her-her ribs were probably broken, and it felt like something was trying to stab her chest from the inside-again, ribs are probably broken. Her glasses were shattered and some of the glass stuck in her skin and cut around her face, causing some blood to dribble into her eyes, so she had to squint and close her left eye, and there was a nice cut along the side of her right cheek, going from her ear to the top of her chin.

The girl knew she was going to get herself killed, she _knew _she was being completely idiotic as she stood up. But the sound of gun fire rang in her ears and made her temporarily deaf.

There were two screams that she could barely register as she flung herself forward idiotically. But only one was ear-splitting.

And that scream belonged to her.

Blood seeped from her right shoulder as her legs finally gave out on her, sending her tumbling forwards. Kaoru quickly reached out and caught her, horror written all over his face. Her blood soaked his clothes and he knew that she was going to die soon if she didn't get medical attention. But they had to deal with the thug, abut Kaoru's hands were full, they didn't have a bodyguard, and-

_PANG_

The Chauffeur stood over the collapsed thug, a frying pan held in his left hand. Hikaru was clapping,

"Bravo, bravo! One question though, _why _a frying pan?" The Chauffeur merely blinked, turning to Hikaru and replied curiously,

"Haven't you ever seen _Tangled_?"

Why was Kaoru the only one concerned about the fact that there was a girl _dying _in his _arms? _Hikaru seemed to finally noticed and cursed loudly,

"Renji! Help Kaoru get the girl into the limo! She'll bleed to death by the time we get to hospital!"

"Yes, Young Master-"

"Hurry!"

Kaoru was still in shock. The first bullet had missed, but the second had hit. And she took it. For the very same person who had _ran her over_.

"-oru. -aoru! Kaoru!" The ginger snapped out of it and looked wide-eyed up at his brother, whose face now resembled that of fear and worry, "We need to get her to the hospital! The Ootori one isn't that far." Kaoru nodded and lifted the girl, the Chauffeur taking her out of his arms, and putting her in the backseat.

* * *

White light blurred her vision and caused the girl to cry out, a small groan escaping her lips as she tried to raise her right hand over her eyes-but finding pain pricking a few spots on her arm as she did so. She let out another cry and grunted, forcing her eyes to open the rest of the way so she could see what was happening-_where _she was.

She heard voices, but barely registered them. The words rang in and out of her head, but she finally managed to make out, _"She's awake! Alert the Doctors!"_

_"Awake? She's waking up!"_

_"Get the phone, Mr. Hitachiin needs to know!"_

Hitachiin? ...What? What is..."What's-" Her voice was hoarse and sounded funny, and she came to realize there was something covering her mouth and nose.

Oxygen mask.

She finally blurted out, her throat hurting, "What's going on!? Where am I!?"" The girl started to grow frantic as she attempted to sit up, pain flaring in her arms again and when she tried to move her left arm... She cried out in pain, especially when hands placed themselves on her hands and shoulders, forcing her to lie back down. The girl fought back, freaking out and unsure of what was happening-she was scared. "My arm! M-My arm, why won't it-why won't-!" Tears started to prick her eyes as she started to cry and she barely registered a needle pricking her arm before everything went black.

...

The girl groaned, reaching consciousness once more, and opened her eyes.

"Hikaru, she's awake!"

"Well, that's good."

"...My head..." She mumbled and her eyes finally gained focused, so she looked around the room, quickly observing like her father taught her to do- Tan walls, wooden brown floor, was that a dresser? A TV on the wall in front of the bed she was on, and on top of the "Dresser" was a plant. She blinked and turned her head slightly, catching sight of a _huge _window that pretty much displayed the entire city below her. "What-What the crap?" Granted, her thoughts were much more...violent. But just in case there were adults around, she cut down on her use of language. It's funny of her mind can still work in a strange situation like this. _Then again, I DID use to have to stay in a hospital for three days straight for the EEG thing..._

"Hey," A kind, but oddly familiar, voice cut in, interrupting her thoughts. "how are you feeling?" She blinked her eyes slowly and turned her head, staring at the man who was looking worriedly at her. He sounded...a bit like Heisuke from _Hakuoki_. And he looked really familiar,

"Do I know you?" The boy and his double looked surprised for a few moments, "'Cause, no offense, but you look _really _familiar. Oh, love the hair by the way-I always wanted to be a ginger, but unfortunately, I'd look terrible as one."

"Great, we picked up a loony."

"Hikaru, calm down, in case you've forgotten, the doctor said she had a concussion." The girl grinned stupidly, her thoughts switching rapidly,

"Really? That's nice...Never had one before, awesome." She yawned and closed her eyes, "I'm tired...Which why I'm probably seeing two of you." The corner of his lips turned up slightly in a grin. "Either that, or your twins. I seem to bump into a lot of twins..." Her eyes opened again and she started to explain slowly, rather differently from her usual fast-pace talking, "There was Lacey and Carly, they were fraternal-Lacey was a blonde with little freckles, Carly was a ginger with lots of freckles. Both had blue eyes though...And then there was Erin and Drake...but Drake had a mole on his right cheek that Erin didn't, so..."

"Congrats, what's your name?" The girl blinked, still confused why everything seemed to look different, and replied,

"My name? Uh...A-Alex, I think..Yeah, Alex. Alex Conners." The brothers looked at each other with raised eyebrows and back at the girl and questioned,

**"American?" **The girl was confused and nodded,

"Aren't you?"

"We're Japanese..." The first began, the kind one, while the ruder one was next,

"We're in Japan-either you hit your head really hard or that bullet did more than render your arm useless, or you have _no _idea where you are."

The girl could only go wide-eyed and breathe in sharply, "Wh-What? You're-You're joking, right? Yeah, you're joking-no, no, I'm dreaming. Yeah, I'm dreaming. Totally. I'm hallucinating-the sedatives! Yeah, I blame them! It was all them!"

_"-render your arm useless, or you have _no _idea where you are." _Wait, useless? The girl blinked and looked down at her left arm, which had a bandage wrapping around the shoulder, along with some stitches. Slight panic hit her and without even realizing it, her right hand began to tap rapidly against the bed as her eyes stung slightly, tears forming. She tried to move her right arm, but only got pain flaring up her arm and a twitch. She tried again, and got to raise it at least a little less of a centimeter off the bed, before it collapsed back down onto the sheets.

She was used to tripping and falling, she was used to bike-crashes, she was used to ramming her arms into doors and stubbing her toes, she was used to face-planting into the ground and getting called "Clumsy" for her klutziness. She was used to walking into dressers and walls and getting scratched angrily by her pet cats when she tried to open her door-she banged her knee against the sliding door for the shower and got bruise! But this, oh not, she was _not _used to this by any means.

The two boys' started to notice her panic and the first tried to calm her down, "Hey, relax, it'll be fine! You had surgery in time, so you'll be able to move arm after a bit of therapy and work-but it'll just..not work as well as it did."

A door opened and a doctor walked in, a clip-board in hand. He announced, dark hair parted to the left with glasses and cold eyes, "We've tried to contact her family, but Mr. and Mrs. Conners are saying that they never had a daughter. They only have a son, whose name is Alexander. But the blood tests are proving otherwise, so we are still trying to gather more data."

Alex felt her blood run cold as she laid there. That was impossible. Alex never had a brother, she was an only child. Sure, her parents _wanted _her to be a boy, so they called her Alex, rather than her full name, Alexandria, and always dressed her up in boys' clothes. Not that Alex minded, she loved to wear guys' clothes, but she also liked to be a bit girly every once in a while. Not that she had many female friends to be girly with anyway-most girls hated her. Found her annoying and loud and childish and immature-and completely _un-lady like_.

"Oh, great, nice to know I'm loved." The words were out of Alex's mouth before she could stop them-her sarcastic and ADHD personality kicking in, "What, so there are _no _record of me or whatever? Oh, joyce, best birthday ever-I should write this on the calendar!" Her voice faked cheerfulness and she ignored the looks she was given, "Seriously? Dude, they probably want to get rid of me and actually _have _a boy. Maybe adopt one if they keep having girls."

"There is a thing called manners, miss." The Doctor told her, fixing his cold gaze onto her. She quickly grew embarrassed and ducked her head, muttering a small,

"Sorry...Habit." The man scoffed and turned his attention to the ginger twins, who she _swore _she recognized, but just couldn't place.

"There are no records of an Alexandria Elizabeth Conners."

"What, so you're saying someone deleted them?" The rude twin questioned, raising a disbelieving eyebrow.

The first twin listened intently as the doctor continued, "I said nothing of the sort. If the files were deleted, we would have our best hackers hack into the system and get them back. What I'm saying, is that she never _existed_. We have excluded access to both Japanese and American citizens and she is not in the files. Despite what the blood testing is saying, she does not exist."

"So, she was never born?" Was what Kaoru inquired, confused by all this.

"Precisely." Was the man's reply, and wrote something down on the clipboard, "While her ID card says her name is Alex Conners, daughter of Natalie Conners and Jason Conners, the DNA testing, as I mentioned previously, stated that she is actually the missing daughter of Suzuki Ayuzawa and Akatsuki Ayuzawa, who both died ten years ago. The same day their daughter, Akari Ayuzawa, went missing."

Alex blinked at the Doctor, before bluntly declaring, "You're nuts. And so is this hospital-I thought hospital rooms were plain and bland, why does this room look so expensive?"

"Commoner?" Twin One questioned looking at his brother, who nodded in confirmation,

"Commoner." Before they both grinned and stated in unison,

**"We've got ourselves a new toy." **She still couldn't place it-but in the back of her mind, she knew them. She knew she knew them. But why was everything looking like it came right out of an anime? Pain echoed in her head, feeling as though rocks were pounding.

"Toy? Last time I checked, I wasn't a doll. I appreciate the offer though, maybe next time." She grinned cheekily at them. She barely noticed the Doctor leave the room.

"But you're a commoner," Rude twin said, smirking evilly. The kind twin was making the same face,

"and if what Yuuichi said was true..."

**"Then you don't have _anywhere _to live."** The girl paled, intensely. **"You have no choice but to be our toy once you get out of here...in what? A week? Maybe two?"**

"You're gonna live with us,"

"We have plenty of empty rooms,"

"We'll even let you choose,"

"but you're also going to have to,"

"enroll in the same school as us."

"I never thought I'd see the day when twins' actually finished each other's sentences," The girl blinked, stating bluntly before breaking out into a huge smile, unable to keep a straight face. "But-wait, that's-I can't!"

**"Why not?"**

"I-I-I-I'd be-" She tried to remember the word. Trespassing? No, what was it? She quickly changed, still stuttering, "I-I-That would be rude, wouldn't it!?"

The brothers' looked at her with confuse faces, "How is it rude?"

"Yeah, we're inviting you."

"But-But it-well," She couldn't think of a valid excuse and sighed, closing her eyes, giving up, "Fine...Don't blame me when you end up regretting it, though."

The brothers' were curious as grins grew out onto their faces, **"Really? How so?"**

"Most people hate me. I'm obnoxious and annoying, 'nuff said." She said as she began to lull herself back into sleep. Pain barely grew in her ribs, not sitting up, so she never noticed.

She had a small concussion, it wore off rather quickly though, a useless left arm with stitches going all around her shoulder, and broken ribs. And she had a few bandages tracing the cut that went across her forehead and curved down to the arch in her right eyebrow.

All she knew, was that she was going to be stuck in this hospital for a long time.

* * *

_"Where am I?" Alex wondered as she looked around the completely white room. The only thing in the room that wasn't white, were the pictures that decorated the walls and ceiling. It was odd; It reminded her of the room that Truth always sat in from the manga _Fullmetal Alchemist_. That was when it hit her-_The manga! _She thought and quickly looked down at her hands, realizing why everything looked so strange. Everything was drawn like it would be in a manga, and colored like it would be in an anime. That was when she wondered what she looked like-but saw that there were no mirrors in the room._

_"Thank you," A voice-that sounded freakishly like her high-pitch one, spoke from behind her. Alex whirled around with wide eyes, only to see a girl who stood at about 5', with wide, childish dark brown eyes. Her head was round and she had small lips, hair skin was fair, if not slightly pale, and had messy light brown hair that was wavy in some parts from where it was cut. Her bangs feel into her eyes and some of her hair spiked up slightly. It looked unkept, but soft. She wore a green hospital dress and there was a small scar leading from her right ear to her chin, faded. "Thank you so much!" Tears welled up in the grateful girl's eyes and Alex could only blink._

_Then scream in slight shock, "What the hell!? Why the crap do you look like me!? And sound like me!? What the hell is going on and-_why _are you thanking me?" Alex's screaming dumbed down to confusion and a softer tone. The girl, the Alex look-alike, smiled at her (Is that what I really look like?) and said,_

_"You gave me life." Alex blinked and took that in the wrong way,_

_"Look, I didn't give birth to you if that's what your implying nor-nor-nor did I become Frankenstein and, like, uh-" She tried to find a good word. "I...I didn't say, no, um...I didn't shout "IT'S ALIVE!" and, like, pulled a lever and made lightning go boom."_

_The girl laughed loudly at that and Alex could only think, _Dear god, I sound like Japanese Vexen when laughing stupidly! _and frowned. He laughed died down to a _much _better sounding laugh before just outright giggled,_

_"Your much funnier in person."_

_"Um, what?"_

_"I've been wanting to meet you a long time, you know." She told Alex, only confusing the poor girl more. The girl explained, "My name is Akari Ayuzawa, and we swapped bodies-er, minds. Yeah, minds, minds is right."_

_"...That isn't physically possible...What is this? Some crappy fanfiction?"_

_"Um, maybe?" The girl said, slightly nervous as she tried to explain better, "Like, when I supposedly "Vanished" ten years ago, I was actually murdered along with my family. But, there was this...figure, who told me "It was not my time" and that "If you wait here for ten years, no contact with people, then when your "Other half" dies, I will give you both life, but you shall be in her place, while she shall be in yours."_

_"...I thought the whole, "Other half" thing was the soul mate concept..."_

_"I did too, honestly, so I was a bit hesitant at first. But then he explained that my "Other half" was a person, a girl to be exact, who looked exactly like me-only in a different dimension."_

_"Okay, so, stupid question, how many dimensions are there?"_

_"Ten. You come from the eight dimension, while I come from the third. As you would put it, um...In a scale from one to ten, the dimension closer to ten are the more "Realistic" and the ones closer to one are the "Anime". Does that make sense?"_

_"Sure." _Not at all, but I'll go with it. _"Anyway, I just wanted to meet you. So, just...don't freak out once you find out you'll never see any of your old friends or family again. From your dimension. And that why everything is similar to anime isn't because of a concussion."_

_"Sure, should be easy-Whoa, _what!?" _She smiled sheepishly at her and that was when her "DREAM PHASE" ended._

Her eyes shot open and she found herself in complete darkness, if not for the small lamp beside me on the dresser that was on. Alex closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to calm her panicking breathe. It was just a dream, after all...right? However, when Alex looked around, she saw a mirror-a _cartoon _looking mirror. She made to lift her left to grab it-only to find it completely useless, and used her right instead. She grabbed the mirror with her working arm, pulled it to her face, and looked at it.

The mirror slid out of her hands and onto her lap, onto the sheets and off the bed, crashing onto the floor and shattering into bits.

Alex felt like screaming, but resisted. _It's a-a joke, right? It's all a joke...It's not a joke, this is real,_ this_ is so _very, very _real and oh, my god I'm never going to see my family again. Or my friends. Or Liam. Oh, my god, I'm never going to see Liam again. _Liam was a boy Alex really liked and despite the fact that she would never tell him, she missed him. Alex's chest tightened in pain as it felt like something was crushing her heart. Alex felt her bottom lip tremble as the sob started to build up in her throat and felt the tears sting her eyes, causing her to close them.

She was not in her dimension anymore, she was not in her safe zone...She was in Akari Ayuzawa, and according to that doctor, Yuuichi, she _was _Akari Ayuzawa. She was speaking Japanese, even though everything seemed English. She could probably read Japanese too...

And those boys...what were their names again? Hikaru and Kaoru...Ginger, twins, amber eyes...spoke in unison-Hitachiin. Hitachiin brothers and Yuuichi Ootori. Kyoya's older brother.

And that was when the tears hit, because, despite how excited she thought she would be if she ever came to such a place, the realization of her never seeing her loved ones again hurt. No, it didn't hurt, it _killed_. The tears steamed down her cheeks and before she knew it, pounding hit her head as her eyes closed, going unconscious as five years of Akari's childhood memories entered her mind. Those were the only memories the man needed to put in her mind, the only ones necessary. She would still be Alex Conners, but with _her _memories, as well as the memories of the Akari Ayuzawa, who had spent five years with her family before they were all murdered.


	2. What happens when you're taken away

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila. I don't own OHSHC or FMA or FMAB. **

A week. A week was all it took before Alex grew to love this hospital. The food was amazing, the nurses and doctors were really nice, and the TV-Holy shanp, that TV! She was able to play video games- albeit it was difficult using only one hand. And it was _not _easy playing against Hikaru and Kaoru, who could so easily use both. But then they made it to where they both used one controller, Hikaru and Kaoru sharing it and using one hand. Kaoru would lead the player, while Hikaru made all the actions. It was hilarious watching fall all over themselves as they tried to fight a boss.

But, there was a laptop, so Alex grew to love the hospital even more. She had one of the nice nurses put the laptop on the desk thing that rested above her legs and she was free to roam Google all she wished. The laptop...her haven. She completely understood why Kyoya typed on his pineapple (Yes, she noticed) laptop all day long during the manga, laptops are amazing.

Hikaru and Kaoru were actually nice enough to send in a arm therapist for Alex-she was gradually gaining control of her arm. She could now lift it up at least two inches off the bed sheets. She was making progress. Her ribs would need at least five more weeks to completely heal, but she could leave after four, so long as she used crutches or a wheel chair. She could walk, so she would probably use crutches-despite how tempting the wheelchair would be. She was given pain killers regularly, so to help get rid of the pain. But, it still didn't do much with the pain she had to bear, knowing that she would never be able to see her loved ones again.

According to the doctor, Yuuichi, Akari-the girl she was supposed to be, the girl she swapped places with- has no family, having been murdered. Alex found that slightly ridiculous, overpowering, but knew that murders were really common. Akari's family wasn't rich in the slightest, so there was more proof that the murder happened.

And despite how often the twins' visited, it was proven that it was only to see that she was still alive and kicking, rather than them actually caring about her. Pain killers...what she wouldn't give if they could get rid of _this _pain.

Alex opened her eyes and sighed softly, turning her head to see the sun high in the sky, signalling it was noon. In a few moments, if they were coming, the twins' would be here, most likely to annoy her to the end of time.

...

They refused. They refused to let her out, despite the fact that it has been four weeks. Stupid twins', can't they see that she just wanted out of this place? She was sick of being cooped up in a bed for so long. She wanted to walk, she wanted to _run- _despite how much hated running.

The twins' didn't help _at all_. No, in fact, they only made it worse. She had to stay until her six weeks were done, and three extra days-just to make sure her vital signs were okay and she was completely healthy. She swore the twins were just out to spite her. Anyway, by this time, Alex was more than convinced that everything was completely real-she wasn't dreaming, it wasn't because of a concussion, or hallucinations...The pain was still there, the emotional pain, but it was numbing...

...

"Right, so, we were thinking," The kind twin began-Alex still couldn't tell them apart yet.

"that when you enroll into Ouran, you should visit us in our club."

"And,"

"quite obviously,"

**"help out in the club." **

"Wh-what? Why?" Alex questioned, alarmed and slightly surprised. "Why-Why would I-why would you want me to help with your club?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Twin number two questioned, a smirk crawling its way up onto his face, "Your our new toy."

"And, as our toy, you need to help out with the club. It _is _your last day here in the hospital, afterall."

"And, since we're also giving you a place to live, it's only fair that you do us a favor."

"Should I be frightened?" Alex questioned, raising an eyebrow. The twins' grinned and in completely unison,

**"Very, very frightened." **

"Joy...Remind me to tell everyone to _not _invite you to my funeral." They seemed to find that funny, as their eyes reflected amusement and their grins seemed to grow.

"I'll pick the flowers," One said,

"And I'll get the coffin." Two finished, both grinning sadistically.

_Liam...Mom, Dad, Briana, Drake, Marie...I hope you all are doing well. I hope you are all happy. _She felt the pain hit her once more and she breathed in deeply, her chest tightening at the heart crushing feeling that appeared. _My entire life has changed...I just hope it isn't for the worse. _

Alex sighed and the twins' looked at her oddly, before twin one spoke up,

"You know...the Doctor's said you can get out tomorrow morning, and it won't be much of a wait."

"Yeah, it'll be fine." Twin two said, much more nonchalantly. He seemed to care less about how the girl was feeling. He caught his brother's gaze and sighed, "Don't worry, you'll be out of here before you know it."

"Y-Yeah...I guess." Alex, despite not being upset over that, felt grateful for their attempts to cheer her up. At least she wasn't hit by a complete snob. That was the only upside, she guessed. And that she _isn't _dead. That was pretty good, if you don't count the fact that she was ripped away from everything she even known and loved and can _never __ever _see her loved ones again...Yeah, it was pretty good. "Thanks, I suppose..." Isn't that what one was supposed to say to something like that?

There was a small silence, in which Alex began, "Yup, that's cool. Really? How interesting-whoa, Jason did _what!?_"

The brothers' looked at her oddly and Alex nodded at them, acting as if they had spoke,

"Yeah...I can't believe it either-"

"Who the hell," Twin two began, raising an eyebrow.

"are you talking too?" Twin one finished, also raising an eyebrow.

"_Now _you decide to talk." Alex huffed and sighed loudly, closing her eyes. _I want out of here...I want to go home. _Home with her stuffed animals, her laptop, her mother and father, and her sisters' and brother who are never home 'cause they're all in college. Twenty-two, twenty-one, and nineteen. Alex was fifteen, though she looked younger than that. _I miss you guys..._

A brief image of a boy with ginger hair and glasses popped in her head and she felt her heart clench, _Liam... _She missed him, but she also missed her friends. They were all a bunch of goofballs...Ellena may have been the only girl besides her, but she was the only female that Alex could actually feel close too. Sure, there Natasha and Sally, but...she just didn't feel as close to them as she was with Ellena. Then there was Rapheal, Ellen's boyfriend, and Liam. Liam...They all made fun of her for being a klutz and called her "Clumsy" but they were just joking around. Besides, if they weren't truly her friends, they wouldn't even bother to hang around her. She was obnoxious, annoying, loud, extremely sarcastic and...she just _wasn't _good with people.

The twins' visit ended not long after that, and they left. Alex ate her (delicious, rich people type) hospital food and went back to sleep, fully intent on leaving tomorrow.

...

_"I wanted to thank you, again..." Akari's voice rang out in Alex's head and she groaned, mumbling, _

_"Great, what did I do this time? Did I die again?" Akari giggled slightly and shook her head, _

_"No, talking to you is only because of the same figure who gave me the message. He's actually rather nice, remind me of Truth from FMAB though." _

_"Yeah..." _

_"Anyway, I'm really sorry." Alex raised an eyebrow at the girl's saddened nature, _

_"What-Why, what's wrong? What happened-why are you apologizing?" It came out slightly harsh and Alex flinched, "Sorry!" _

_"It's fine...And...I took all this away from you. I was selfish and I took you from your home, your family, your friends, Liam..." Alex cut in, narrowing her eyes,_

_"How'd you know about him?" Akari smiled gently at her and tapped her head repeatedly with her index finger,_

_"You gained my memories all the way up to five years old, right? Well, I gained your fifteen years of memories, while still keeping my own. It's been rather helpful when it comes to talking to people. Oh! And, when people start asking questions, your back story is: You were kidnapped by a friend of the man who murdered your family, you both moved to America, and your name was changed to Alexandria Elizabeth Connors. Your original name, however, is Akari Akira Ayuzawa. So, if a girl with dark hair and eyes says that or something, then you know her. Her name will be Haruhi Fujioka. We used to be neighbors and close friends back in preschool."_

_"Right..." Alex nodded slowly, eyeing the girl weirdly, "Did you come up with that yourself or did the angel tell you that?" She grinned madly and Alex couldn't help but grin back, _

_"The Angel told me _everything_. Almost everything, but close enough."_

_"You realize I have bad memory, right?" _

_"Yes, yes I do. I have bad memory, too." _

_"Sweet! We'll get along epicly then!" Alex grinned widely. "Now..." _

_"You wake up." _

_"Wait, what-" Alex was cut off. _

"Wake up! Geesh, talk about a deep sleeper." Alex opened her eyes groggily to find herself being shaken roughly by a pair of hands. She blinked and once her vision cleared, she saw red hair. She instantly asked, slightly hopeful,

"...Liam?"

"No, it's me, Kaoru. We're checking you out of the hospital." Disappointment hit Alex in the chest like a bullet-and she knew what one felt like, so she had a right to make that comparison- and frowned, her lips sticking out slightly in a pout.

"Oh...Okay, ow-!" She flinched when one of the needles were taken out of her arms. Kaoru gently pulled the Oxygen mask off of her face and backed away, allowing the Doctors to do the rest. Alex looked at Kaoru, blinking as she took in his features._ High cheekbones, an ideal nose_...Her eyes roamed his face, trying to spot a difference from him and his brother. _They both have mischievous eyes...His kind of remind me of Edward's though...Like Scar said in that one episode, he has "Kind" eyes...I think his head is square, but I could be wrong... Um... _Alex was taken out of her thoughts when one of the nurse's said,

"All done, Mr. Hitachiin, Ms. Connors is free to go." Alex made to stand, sliding off the bed, only to almost have her legs give out on her completely. There was a loud, and high-pitch, shout as Alex toppled to the ground. She grumbled incoherently as she got up on her knees, shaking her poor, throbbing hands.

"Well, that felt _lovely_, I just can't _wait _to do that again." Alex grumbled, sarcasm leaking off of her tongue like a second language. She tried to stand again, her legs incredibly weak from not walking or standing for six weeks and three days, wobbling. "Whoa-Whoa!" She waved her arms frantically as she started to fall again, only to quickly catch her balance. "I'm okay! I'm good! I'm okay, thanks for asking! The food was wonderful, tasted like heaven-believe me, I've been in hospital for a long time, I would know." She laughed slightly and Kaoru shook his head, watching her stumble as she walked towards him and the door.

"Ah, come on already, Hikaru's waiting in the car." Kaoru reached forward and grabbed her arm, slinging it over his shoulder as he put the other on her waist, "He's extremely impatient."

Alex jumped in surprise, and gasped, "Wh-What're you _doing_?"

"Helping, you were gonna fall before we even get down the hallway." As if to prove his point, Alex tripped slightly and Kaoru helped her catch her balance. "Come on, the exit is this way. School starts in two days, since it's Saturday. So make sure you're ready and able to walk by then."

"Whatever." Alex said, nodding her slightly. "I'll try."

"Better, or we'll have you cleaning up after our servants."

"Oh, you're nice."

"I try."

"Brilliant."

"Thank you, I try."

"You realize I was being sarcastic?"

"Yes. Now get in the car." Alex huffed and grumbled unintelligible words as she was forced to get in the-

"_What the hell!? You call that a **car**!?_ That's a fucking _limo_!" Kaoru slid in next to his brother, who smirked.

"Yeah, you should be grateful that we're letting a Commoner like you into something as expensive as this."

"Not to mention you're going to be living in our mansion."

"And going to Ouran Academy, where only filthy rich aristocrat heirs get to go."

"And help in the Host Club,"

"where people with _way _too much time on their hands,"

"entertain ladies, who also, have _way _too much time on their hands."

Alex was silent for a moment, staring at the two boys' who were smirking inside the heavenly vehicle, before asking bluntly, "I'm screwed, aren't I?"

**"Nope, just our toy." **

"Yeah...I'm screwed." Alex then turned around and started to walk towards the Hospital, "Later."

**"Get back here!" **Alex screamed when she was attacked by the twins' and forced inside the limo.

"I don't wanna!"

"Stop being so childish!" Hikaru grunted, his voice faintly reminiscent of Death the Kid and Ling. Thank god she watched the anime.

"I _am _childish, I can't help it!" She struggled as Kaoru put the seat-belt on her, ordering,

"To the mansion."

"Yes, Young Master." And the Chauffeur, the same one who used a frying pan, drove.

"I hate you all!"


	3. The Sarcastic, Childish type

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably **_**So in Love with Two, **_**by Mikaila.**

**"Welcome home, Young Masters." **A pair of black haired, brown eyes twin maids greeted boredly in unison as the limo pulled up into the driveway. Hikaru and Kaoru practically _dragged _Alex out of the limo before tossing her into the female twin maids' arms, who glanced down at her confusedly and back up at the brothers', who ordered,

**"Show her the bathroom and wardrobe. She needs a bathe and a change of clothes."**

**"Yes, Young Masters. Come, miss." **They looked down at the brunette and quickly dragged her into the mansion, showing her the closest bathroom.

"That's-that _can't _be a bathroom! It's _huge! H-Hey, let go!_" Alex shirked as the maids' attacked, stripping her of her clothes, _"Cold!" _Next thing she knew, she was pushed into the _huge _bathtub. _"HOT!" _She let out a string of curses when the maids' started to wash her hair and body- "I can do it myself! I'm not helpless, you know! Ow, ow, ow,-GAH!"

"Your hair and skin,"

"will be soft in no time."

"LET GO ME!" Alex cried, indignant. She felt steaming hot water splash on her head and she screamed. "I PREFER BEING IN THE HOSPITAL!"

"I got the clothes!"

"Oh, my..."

"I AM NOT WEARING THAT PINK FRILLY STUFF!"

"Very well, what about this?"

"...Maybe. What else you got? Oh! That one!" Normally, she'd want to wear her normal clothes, but those were all bloody and torn and dirty and just...ew. And the maids' were practically forcing the clothes on her-but they were letting her choose, so...

"How about these jeans?"

"I like 'em."

"This belt?"

"Sure." By now, Alex was out of the tub with a towel around her small body, shivering slightly from the cold air. She and the maids were going through the different clothes. "Hey, what about those gloves?"

"They would look wonderful."

Then the maids' looked at her with evil eyes and Alex instantly regretted everything. She backed away slowly, only to scream again once she was attacked and forcefully dressed. "OW! STOP IT, QUIT IT! HEY-I CAN DO THIS BY MYSELF-!" Alex felt completely violated. She huffed and grumbled, cursing every now and then, before just letting the woman do what they were trying to do. _This is freaking ridiculous...But, it'll just be over quicker if I stop struggling-I think. I just want to go home.. _Alex would probably never stop thinking that.

**"All done, miss."**

"I could have done it myself." Alex spoke, annoyed, "Th-Thanks though, for, you know, the help." She stuttered slightly, scratching the side of her arm nervously. Alex now donned a pair of black tripp jeans with red zippers, a black studded belt, and a light purple T-shirt that clung to her body slightly. She also wore a pair of black, fingerless gloves. She didn't have much of a figure; She wasn't extremely skinny, nor was she fat. She was a B-cup, so she wasn't overly large or overly small, and she had light brown hair and dark brown eyes, so in all, she was average. She knew she was average, but never thought of herself as pretty.

"Now...for that hair-" One of the maids began, but Alex quickly interrupted,

"I can do it! Just give me the hairbrush." The maids' complied, reluctantly, and Alex was left to brush her easily-tangled hair. "Thank you, geesh..." _Damn rich people... _"Can I leave now?"

**"The Young Masters are this way." **And she was then dragged...again.

...

"You actually look like a girl now!" Twin one declared, who Alex is guessing is Hikaru. His face looked more thinner than Kaoru's... And his bangs are shorter-if not by much.

"Wow, you clean up nicely."

"Um, thanks...I think?" Alex wasn't sure how to react, or what to say. "Can I leave now?"

**"No! You're our toy, so therefore, you stay. You're living with us now anyway." **Alex sighed,

"I hate my life..." Hikaru and Kaoru grinned, looking at each other from the corner of their eyes, and walked over, slinging their arms around her shoulders.

"Aw, don't say that-"

"Your new life here is only getting started!" Alex felt like crying, but the tears would not appear. She felt a sob start to bubble up in her throat and she swallowed, hiding any signs of sadness. _It's almost creepy that they said something like that... _Instead, Alex forced a smile on her face cheerfully and laughed,

"Yeah, sure, whatever you guys say! Weirdos..."

"Look who's talking,"

"Ms. I walk out into middle of street!" Alex removed their arms from her and backed up, a hand placed against her chest as she grinned, faking a wounded voice,

"Why, how rude! I was merely returning home from the library! How immature of you!"

...and not long after that, she was given a room and was pretty much forced to go to school on Monday.

"Do I have to wear that? I-I-Isn't there, like, I-I don't know...A-A different uniform I can wear?" Alex questioned the brothers', looking up at them hopelessly. Her eyes were wide, lips tilted down in a slight frown, eyebrows furrowed worriedly. "I-I don't like dresses...or this color. It looks like a banana."

The brothers' blinked at her, dressed in the male Ouran uniform. **"That was the only uniform we ordered." **They explained. Alex frowned, pouting slightly as she stared at it. She didn't want to see rude or selfish, but...

"Why the hell would someone even _want _to wear something like that?"

Hikaru groaned, placing a palm against his forehead, "Will you shut up if we let you wear one of ours?"

"It won't even _fit _you." Kaoru added, looking the _really _short girl up and down. "We're 5'9 and...you're 5' nothing."

"Gee, thanks, I feel loved." Was Alex's sarcastic reply.

"You are."

"Very, very much."

"I don't know if that was a compliment or an insult, but thank you."

"Your welcome."

"Can I steal your uniform now?" Hikaru groaned again, finding her extremely annoying, and growled,

"Yes! Yes, you can borrow our freaking uniform!" He stormed off out of the room and Kaoru looked at Alex, asking with a raised eyebrow,

"Are you _trying _to annoy Hikaru on purpose?" Alex grinned at Kaoru, brown eyes flashing,

"Why yes, yes I am. It's something I am _quite _good at." She blinked when clothes were suddenly shoved into her arms and grunted.

"Take 'em and get dressed! We leave in five!" Alex instantly burst out into a run, stumbling slight-her legs still didn't work that well, and made to open the door with her left arm, only to growl and have to use her right instead.

The therapist was actually _very _helpful. Alex could now bend her arm and lift it-she just couldn't get her arm up all the way above her head anymore. It hurt if it went any higher than its limit. She threw her shirt off and quickly buttoned her shirt, slinging the tie around her neck- she didn't know how to tie one, anyway- and quickly pulled on the blue jacket, leaving it unbuttoned. She ran a brush through her hair quickly-attempting to make it neat, only to have it bounce back up in its tangles. She felt something bubbling in her stomach- excitement? Was she excited to leave? No...She felt something good was about to happen.

Alex, despite being traumatized, was still a fangirl, and this fangirl was one of the Manga Ouran High School Host Club...and she wanted to meet the Host Club. She ran out of the bathroom, screaming as she tripped and nearly landed flat on her face.

"I told you it would be too big." Kaoru told the girl, chuckling as she fumbled around to sit up.

"Ah, shove off!" Alex grumbled, annoyed as she sat up, rolling the pants legs up to her ankles, before doing the same with her sleeves. "Wait-where're my shoes? Shit, um-"

"Over there."

"Thank you!" She ran and put her shoes on, hopping on one foot to do so, only to bang her shoulder against a wall. She shouted as she fell again, catching her balance this time. "READY! Wait-yeah, yeah, I'm ready now." Hikaru barged back in, his bag tucked to his side, and grabbed her roughly by her arm, dragging her back to the limo, "H-Hey! Ow! Let go-that hurts!"

"Hikaru! Be nice!"

"I'll be nice when she stops being annoying."

"I find it kind of ironic," Alex joked, remembering something she googled about Virgo and Gemini friendships. Apparently, Virgo and Scorpios get along amazingly, as well as Virgo and Pisces, but Virgo and Scorpio are pretty much a "Match-made-in-heaven". Gemini and Virgos don't like each other very much... She winced again, "Ow! Okay, okay, I get it, geesh! Jerk." She was roughly shoved into a limo and groaned, wishing Ellena were here. Even Rapheal would be better. _You know, I'm practically living every fangirls' dream, yet one of the Hitachiin brothers' hates me. Hmm...Seems legit. _Kaoru climbed into the limo on her right, Hikaru on her left, but scooting as far away from her as possible. _I feel loved, but not that I can blame him. I find myself annoying too! _She felt a small smirk crawl onto her lips and she sighed, shaking her head to cross her thoughts out. _Okay...Apologize. You can do it, just...try not to be awkward about it._

"I-I'm sorry." _Yeah, not awkward sounding at all! _"But, I..." She tried to think of the right words to say. "I'm just trying to, you know, get comfortable. Not to sound rude or anything, but, um, I _did _get hit by a car, found out I'm not who I thought I am, and pretty much am in a country completely different to the one I've been living in the past ten years and...well, it's..." Alex felt the sob build in her throat again and closed her eyes, trying to blink away the tears that were forming. Hikaru was mad at her, and Alex didn't like it when _she _was the cause of someones' anger or sadness. "I-I'm sorry..."

Hikaru was silent and Alex opened her mouth in an attempt to repeat herself, thinking he hadn't heard her, when he cut her off,

"It's fine. I...I didn't think about it, so...yeah. Sorry." His sounded even more awkward than Alex's apology, and Kaoru felt a small smile grow on his face.

"S-So, you _don't _hate me? Or you do hate me and you didn't think about why?"

Hikaru chuckled slightly at looked at her with a small grin, raising his index finger and thumb, flicking her in the forehead. Alex cried out in protest and rubbed the red spot, annoyed,

"What was that for!? What did I do?"

"Everything, you idiot." She rolled her eyes,

"Oh, gee, thanks, your nice."

"I try to be."

"Guys, if you two will stop arguing now, we're here." The doors opened and the twins' slid, Alex climbing awkwardly out after them.

"Wait-what class do I have first!? You never told me my schedule!" She ignored all the looks and whispers the three of them were getting. Kaoru paused in what he was doing, which was walking, and reached into his bag, laughing slightly,

"My bad! I forgot to give it to you. But we share all the same classes, so it shouldn't really matter. We only leave the classroom for lunch-the teachers are the only ones who change classrooms."

"Huh?" Alex was confused at the new information, "Wait, what?"

_"Who is that girl?"_

_"What's wrong with her uniform? She's wearing the boys!"_

_"Why isn't her tie, tied? Is she trying to copy Mori-Sempai with the unbuttoned jacket?"_

_"Why is she with the Hitachiin brothers?"_

_"They aren't dating, right?"_

_"No! Please tell me it isn't so!"_

_"Are they living together?"_

_"Don't be outrageous! That girl is too plain! No way the brothers' would take an interest in someone like her-!" _Alex cut them off with an annoyed glare,

"Yes, yes, I know I'm awesome, but you don't have to declare it so loudly! I'd rather you say it in hushed little whispers that don't make it to my ear!" She realized she was a letter off and added, "S."

Hikaru looked at incredulously while Kaoru declared,

"You're strange."

"Ridiculous is more like it." Hikaru corrected, shaking his head. "I don't want to know what goes on in your head."

"Believe me, I don't either." He gave her a weird look at that, but chuckled.

"Whatever, let's just get to class."

"You're-wait, what? Oh...Oh, OH! Hey, wait up!" Alex chased after the two brothers', who almost left her by herself. "Don't leave me!"

_"Why are they together like that?" _Those whispers were _really _starting to get on Alex's nerves.

...

Alex stared blankly at the students who were looking intently at her and Alex caught sight of a brunette with short, messy hair and thick-rimmed glasses, wearing a sweater. She felt a small half-smirk, half-smile form on her face. It was her trademark smile. _How fitting that I arrive just before Haruhi enters the Host Club...I have perfect timing, as always. Now...Oh, crap, still have to introduce myself! _"Right, well, I'm Alex Connors-though, according to the doctors I'm Akari Ayuzawa, but I've been living in America most my life, so, yeah. Just call me Alex."

She watched everyone's reaction, specifically Haruhi, whose eyes widened every slightly. Alex then remembered what else she was supposed to do, "Wait! Ah, I'm supposed to say, "Please take care of me" right?" She looked at the teacher for confirmation, who nodded, and Alex bowed, "Please take care of me." _Not that I could care, really, but hey!_

"Yes, well, you can sit behind Fujioka-Fujioka, please raise your hand." Said brunette did so and Alex awkwardly walked to the seat, trying not to trip. Unfortunately, she did trip. She let out a small shout and barely caught herself, quickly sitting down in her seat, biting her lip from embarrassment. She could almost hear her old friends, laughing and calling her clumsy. She felt her heart clench at the though and inhaled deeply. _Calm down..._

English went by gloriously, History was okay-it wasn't her worst subject. At science, Alex felt like going to sleep, and at Math, well, let's just say her head almost exploded and turned to mush. Then it was lunch.

Alex stood there awkwardly in the line, just following Hikaru and Kaoru-she only really knew them, after all- and blinked, looking at what was for lunch.

It looked amazing, Alex had to admit, and she blinked when she heard Hikaru and Kaoru say,

**"She'll take the set B pasta meal, and set D salad and coke." **Alex blinked in surprise and had no choice but to take the tray from the lunch ladies.

"Ah-thank you." _I think. _She quickly followed Hikaru and Kaoru to a table, sitting down. Alex almost didn't notice all the other people at the table, and when she did, she looked around nervously. Her eyes grew wide once she realized who they were.

One was a boy with blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes. His hair was slightly curly and framed his face. Probably sixteen, or seventeen at the most. The boy sitting next to him, writing something in a small, black book, had neatly combed, black hair that bangs were pushed to the left. He wore glasses, that covered his gray-brown eyes. Same age as the blonde.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, who's this?" The blonde asked, looking at the girl in surprise.

Alex blinked at the blonde before pointing at herself and stuttering, "Me? O-Oh, I'm-"

"Alex Connors, age fifteen, Class A. Recently identified as Akari Ayuzawa, the girl who went missing ten years ago." The boy with glasses listed off, reading from his black book, "The rumor is that when she vanished, she was actually kidnapped and brought to America, going by the name of Alex Connors and for unknown reasons, was found in Japan after getting hit by a limo." He slammed his book shut and continued to list off, "Hikaru and Kaoru checked her into my family's hospital-she had a concussion, three broken ribs, and a bullet wound in the shoulder. She received arm therapy, so she can move her left-she just can't raise her hand above her head. Brown hair, brown eyes-there isn't much known about her. She's currently living with the Hitachiin brothers'." His glasses flashes, _no one_ left information out.

Alex sweatdropped, "Um...Yeah, what random person said."

"My name is Kyoya Ootori." Alex looked down at her food,

"I knew that."

Kaoru grinned at her and said, "_Suuuure..._" Alex looked up at him, trying to look offended-only to have a grin snake its way onto her face,

"What!? I did! I completely and totally knew his name!" Which she did. What? She read the manga and watched the anime-she'd be a complete _idiot_ if she didn't know his name! She pointed at the blonde, "I know his too!"

Tamaki quickly went into his "Host" mode and stood, walking over to Alex with a hand on his chest, kneeling beside her as he took her hand in his, asking with a charming smile, "And what is my name, Dear Princess?"

"Your name is Tamaki Suoh." Alex replied and asked, "And can you-can you let go of me? Please?" She added with a thoughtful look. Tamaki looked stricken. Alex pulled her hand away from him, "I'm trying to eat this heavenly food, and yes, I know I'm being dramatic, but I do not care." Tamaki, acting very robotic, walked over to his seat, sitting down with a depressed air around him.

Hikaru and Kaoru burst out laughing, "Poor, boss,"

"a girl finally rejected him!" They clapped Alex on the back, causing the girl to nearly spill her drink.

**"Great job! You've done us proud."**

"You two are insane," Alex deadpanned, but laughed. She stopped abruptly, looking at the still-depressed blonde, and asked worriedly, "Um...Are you alive? I-I think I killed him-Quick!" She stood up, looking around frantically, "Help me hide the body!" Hikaru and Kaoru stared at her again for a moment before laughing again. Kyoya merely pushed up his glasses, resisting the urge to sigh.

This was pretty much how the lunch period went, Alex finally getting out of her uncomfortable shell and acting rather childish.

School ended rather quickly, and Alex was left to be dragged by the twins' into the Host Club. Alex _really _didn't want to go there, because she knew she'd end up getting caught into plot someway or another, but also wanted too because she would get to see everything in action. She sighed as she was dragged,

_Liam...What am I supposed to do? _Alex didn't have much of a choice as she was put onto a couch.

"Eh? Hika-Chan, Kao-Chan, who is she?" A childish voice asked. Alex blinked and turned her head to look at Mitskuni Haninozuka, a boy with honey-blonde hair and light brown eyes, standing at a height of 4'9.

**"This is our new toy!" **Hikaru and Kaoru spoke, grinning as they walked over and rested their arms on her shoulders. Alex glared at them,

"I'm a "She" not a thing!" They moved away, waving their hands as if they could care less. "Oh, gee, thanks, I feel loved."

"Wait-how do you know Hika-Chan and Kao-Chan?" Mitskuni asked curiously, pink flowers floating around him. "Are you friends?" His brown eyes were wide as he stared up at Alex, curiosity flowing.

"Er, kind of? I don't know..." Alex trailed off, before growing cheerful again, "Anyway, as for how I know them? They ran me over, can you believe the nerve?" She stood up,, acting all dramatic, striking poses and making movements with her hands, "Running a poor girl over with a limo, how cruel! I was merely saving a poor old woman from getting her purse snagged and they ran me over!" She faked sobbed, "It's so tragic!"

"Eh!? Is this true!?" Tamaki blurted suddenly, charging over to Hikaru and Kaoru, "Did you really run over a poor, innocent girl like her with your _limo_!? That's disgraceful! You shady twins, you're horrible!"

"Hey, watch it, boss," Hikaru spoke up, frowning. "We didn't run her over,"

"Our chauffeur did, and it was on her own accord that she got shot."

"In fact, if she was smart, she wouldn't have been standing in the middle of the street in the first place!"

Alex stood up straight, pointing at them, "My apologies for being shocked with the fact that I just barely escaped death! A bullet went _straight _passed my _head _for God's sake! Seriously, you can't expect me to _not _be in shock!?"

"As much as I love this argument," Kyoya spoke, sarcasm dripping off of his tongue as he typed away on his laptop, "we open in two minutes. Now, finish the introductions so we can get in our positions."

"Kyoya-right!" Tamaki whirled around, only to whirl around _again _to point at the twins, "I'll finish scolding you two later! Alex, my dear princess,"

"Please don't call me that." Tamaki deflated slightly,

"Yes, well, ah-Alex, you already met the twins, Kyoya, and myself... so, Honey-Sempai! Mori-Sempai!" The short blonde ran over, holding Usa-Chan tightly in his arms, Mori right behind him. "The cute blonde here is Mitskuni Haninozuka. You may refer to him as Honey-Sempai. The tall, silent one is Takashi Morinozuka. You can call him Mori-Sempai."

"Er, right...Okay. Uh, hi?" Alex waved awkwardly at them.

"Positions. We open in one minute." The Host Club got in their positions and Alex was left to stand there awkwardly. She raised a hand a said,

"Right, well..I'll...go over there." By that pillar, _way _out of the way.

The doors opened at precisely 3:00 P.M. and girls' fluttered into the room.

"Excuse, Tamaki, but who is she?" A girl with dark black hair and a heavy coating of red lipstick questioned, looking in Alex's general direction.

Alex was sitting in a corner, watching everyone with a blank expression on her face.

_Everyone looks like they're having fun...Ellena, Rahpeal, Liam...Sally, Ricky and Jason...Mom, Dad...I hope everyone is having a better time than me. _Alex closed her eyes and sighed slightly, leaning head back against the wall, knees tucked to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. _I'm so bored...I wish someone would come over and talk to me..._

"Oh? Well, that's the new transfer student, Alex Connors. According to Kyoya, she just recently got out of the hospital after getting shot and hit by a limo."

The girls' around the blonde gasped, eyes wide.

"Seriously?"

"But-but she looks perfectly healthy!"

Ayanokoji, a girl with light brown hair and dark eyes, smiled at Tamaki, "Really? Is that so?"

Tamaki nodded and Alex looked in their direction, _When I said-er, thought that I wanted someone to talk to me, I didn't talk _about _me. _Alex sighed and closed her eyes, leaning forward and resting her chin on her arms. Her eyes looked around the room and saw that everyone, except Kyoya, had customers. _Maybe I can talk to Kyoya-then I would end up bothering him...Decisions, decisions... I hate them. Oh! Maybe I can sneak out and try to find Haruhi! She _was _my neigh- _Alex froze in her thoughts. Did she seriously just think "my"? _No, no, she was Akari's neighbor! Well...If I get lost, I'll just wander around 'till I find what I'm looking for. _Alex stood, fighting back a grin, but unable to keep it down for long.

"Sounds like a plan," She said to herself, grinning widely as she looked around to make sure no one was watching, and started to walk towards the giant door.

She was was just about to attempt to push the doors open, when a voice spoke up, "And just here do you think you're going?" Alex froze and whirled around, looking surprised to see Kyoya typing away on his laptop.

Alex shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant, "Oh, you know...Just out to get a breathe of fresh air-oh, maybe one of the libraries! Do you guys have any of the _Warriors _or _Percy Jackson and the Olympians _books? Has the_Blood of Olympus _come out yet? I've been waiting forever." Kyoya said nothing as he typed away, before speaking up,

"I suggest you _not _try to leave; It would only create a hassle when the twins' have to go look for you." _I highly doubt they would care._

Alex shrugged, "Doubt they'd care. Not very many people like me and Hikaru pretty much finds me annoying-so...yeah, there you go!" She grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "Can I leave now?"

"No."

"And why not?"

Kyoya turned his head and gave her a piercing stare, "I believe I have already explained it to."

"Really? I must of zoned out-I tend to do that a lot." She chuckled, scratching the side of her left arm. "Sorry!"

"Just get back to your corner, or at least talk to some of the guests. They've been asking about you."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." She mock, quoted. You gotta love the Tenth Doctor-David Tennant and Matt Smith? Beautiful. Just beautiful. He gave her a look and Alex relented, raising her hands up in a defense position, "Okay, Okay, I'm going! Please don't kill me."

"Ne, ne, Lexi-Chan!" Alex let out a shout when she was suddenly tackled at the waist by a boy who was probably only a few inches shorter than her. "Wanna come eat cake with me and Usa-Chan!?"

Alex looked down at Mitskuni surprised, stuttering with wide-eyes, "I-I, uh, I-I don't...I-I guess?" She was surprised at both his actions, and herself. She couldn't believe she agreed. She rarely even eats sweets. Alex had no choice but to let Mitskuni grab onto her hand and lead her towards hit and Mori's table. She laughed as they ran, "Slow down, Hunny-Sempai! I don't run as fast as you!"

"Takashi, Takashi!" Mitskuni cried out cheerfully as they neared the table, "Lexi-Chan said she'll eat cake with us! Isn't that great!" Mori looked at the girl briefly before back at his cousin, nodding his head,

"Hn." Mitskuni quickly pushed Alex down into a chair and asked her quickly,

"Which flavor do you want? We have strawberry, lime, chocolate, velvet-"

"I-I'll take chocolate." Some of the girls around the table looked at Alex and started whispering,

_"She's so adorable!"_

_"She like a little kid."_

_"She's so shy-Is she similar to a lolita?"_

Alex took the cake and muttered and quiet, "Th-Thanks..." She grabbed a fork and cut off a piece of the cake, stabbing it with the fork, and bit into it. She chewed for a few seconds, eyes going wide, before declaring with a full mouth, "This is amazing!" Only to quickly clamp a hand over her mouth, embarrassed crying out with a flinch, "Sorry!" And flinched again.

"Hey, your name is Ayuzawa, right?" Alex looked up, swallowing, guessing that the girl was addressing her.

"O-Originally, yeah. My name is-My name is now Alex Connors. But I used to be Akari. You can call me Alex if you want, or Akari, whichever you prefer-" Alex started to gain a confused face. "But, uh, yeah..." The girl smiled at her,

"I'm Akiko. So, how'd you meet the Host Club?" The other girls at the table leaned in closer, attentive and curious. Alex tensed, uncomfortable, and said,

"Hikaru and Kaoru dragged me here."

"Oh..." She looked slightly disappointed by her answer. Another girl asked,

"How'd you meet Hikaru and Kaoru?"

"Truth or lie?" Alex questioned with a serious face.

"Um, truth?"

"They ran me over with a car-er, well, technically I met Kaoru after I took a bullet for him, and Hikaru just came out of the car after his brother. I only really, _truly _met them when I woke up at the one hospital."

"Eh? That's so brave!" Mitskuni declared, eyes wide.

"Why was someone shooting at you?"

"I tried to stop a guy from robbing a purse from an old woman. He wasn't very nice, you know." Alex tsk'ed, shaking her index finger back and forth. Her cake lay forgotten.

"Really? You're like a superhero, Lexi-Chan!" Mitskuni declared, pink flowers floating around him, an adoring smile on his face.

"Yes, totally!" Alex declared, standing up, giving a two-fingered salute. "I am Alex the Awesome! The strongest, most toughest superhero in the Universe! I best even Superman! Hahahaha!" Alex laughed loudly and maniacally.

"You're brave for a Commoner." Another girl commented, eyes wide as she watched the dramatic act.

"Really? Is it true!?" Alex almost tripped over her own feet walking backwards when Tamaki suddenly rushed towards her, "Did you really fight off a ruffian!? You must've been so scared! You must tell us everything!"

Ayanokoji looked slightly peeved at this point.

"H-Hey, l-let go of me!"

"E-Excuse me," A timid girl spoke up, "I-Is Akari-Chan a-a Hostess?"

Kyoya's seemed to grow interested in the conversation, Tamaki grew surprised, while Alex just froze to the spot.

"I-I'm just asking, be-because it seems like a lot of girls' like her, and she seems to know you all, so, I was was just wondering..." the girl seemed to grow more nervous and embarrassed on the spot.

Kyoya pushed up his glasses, obscuring his eyes from view, and his trademark smirk seemed to grow on his face as he opened his mouth to speak.

_Please say no, please say no, please say no-_

"Why, yes. We recruited her not too long ago at the request of the twins'." The girl clapped her hands together, smiling widely,

"Really!? That's wonderful! It's great that we're able to have a girl to talk now, instead of just males' all the time! I can't wait until tomorrow!" The girl walked off, almost skipping.

Tamaki released Alex, who had a dark aura around her, thoroughly depressed. _I knew it..I knew I was going to end up mixed in the plot one way or another! Liam, help me out here! I don't know what I'm supposed to do!_She looked up at Kyoya with wide eyes, asking depressed,

"What's my type, then?" Kyoya smirked, pushing up his glasses as he wrote something in his black book, closing it before answering with a shit-eating grin,

"Isn't obvious? You're the Sarcastic, Childish type. The First Hostess."

_Yup, I'm screwed. Haruhi, hurry up and get your ass over here before I hang myself-Oh! Lost One's Weeping! I wanna listen to that now..._


	4. Host Club's New Dog

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila.**

Alex, with a few threats from Kyoya, reluctantly sat to talk with a few girls, who kept asking questions.

"What made you decide to join the Host Club?"

"What's your favorite color?"

"Not to sound rude or anything, but how did a Commoner like you get into the Host Club?"

"I thought it would be fun, blue, black, red, green, and purple, and I was dragged here." Alex answered, lying during the first question. "Nice hairstyle, by the way." She complimented, gesturing to Akiko's hair, "Reminds me of Toph's from _Avatar: The Last Airbender._"

Her face flushed slightly, "R-Really? You think so? I tried to base it off of hers, but I didn't think it turned out well..."

"It looks great, what're you talking about?" Alex grinned.

"Alex, a guest here wants to meet you!" Kyoya called over, causing Alex to stand and look over at the girls, giving them a small salute,

"See ya, don't wanna be ya!" And ran towards the girl Kyoya was gesturing too. She had dark brown hair tied in a braid behind her back, she stood tall and straight, hovering over Alex by quite a few inches, and her grey eyes were narrow and cold. Alex could tell the smile was fake the second she saw it. "Hi! What's up? I'm Alex, what's your name?"

"Akira."

"Hey, that's my middle name! Well, technically. Cool!" The girl's "Smile" widened and asked in a polite tone of voice,

"Can I speak to you in private, Alex-Chan?"

"Uh-S-Sure, I guess..." Alex had that uncomfortable feeling growing in her gut. Alex cautiously followed the girl to the Kitchen (Why on earth was there a kitchen in the Host Club?) and Alex barely had time to blink before Akira's glare was on her.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Talking to you." She replied easily, unaffected by the glare.

"I mean, with the Host Club! Stop worming your way into their minds! It's not like they're actually your friends-I mean, it's obvious they're only being nice. Why else would they allow a pitiful Commoner into their club? You're not even pretty."

Alex raised an index finger, advising wisely, "It's not what's on the outside that matters, but the inside. Never judge a book by its cover."

"I'm telling you, and I'm sure many other girls' think the same, to stay away from the Host Club. You don't belong here. In Ouran. Go back to your petty Commoner school." She walked out, but not before opening the door and turning her head with a huge false smile, declaring loudly, "I'm sure we'll be best friends!"

"Oh, wait a minute, Akira-Chan!" Alex called out, rushing forward and giving the girl a hug, whispering softly, "If you think you scare me, you're wrong. In fact, by telling me _not _to hang out with them, it's making me _want _to hang out with them." She released the angered girl, waving childishly at her, a huge grin on her face as she closed her eyes, "Bye-Bye, Akira-Chan! Have fun!"

"B-Bye..." Akira was clearly flustered as she stormed away. "I'm bored, now." Alex sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She looked around and saw that her guests' already left, so she was free to hang out with other Hosts. Kyoya, again had none, so she decide to go and bug him. "Kyoya!" She called out as she ran over, receiving looks from multiple people. Kyoya barely cast her a glance as he continued to type away on his laptop. She looked over his shoulder and asked, "What do you even _type _on there?" She didn't receive an answer, so she asked a different question after a few moments, "How come you have no guests?"

"It's not that I have no guests, as in I never receive them, but I do not entertain the guests' as often as Tamaki, the King, does as well as the rest of the Host Club. I mainly keep tabs on everything and manage all the Host Club's expenses."

"Oh..Oh, Oh! Okay, I think I get it. So basically anything that involves money and stuff like that, you work with?"

"Precisely."

"Well, that's sounds fun." And there goes Alex's sarcasm again. She really should give it a name.

"It isn't so much as fun as it is necessary." Kyoya told her, typing away to Neverland, "We don't want the Host Club going bankrupt, now do we?"

"N-No, not really...I guess." Alex shifted uncomfortably, wanting to sit down, but not knowing if she'd get told to leave or not.

"If you're going to sit down, sit. Don't just stand there all day." Alex quickly complied, sitting. There was a small silence, in which neither of them said anything. You could hear the tapping of Alex's fingers against the wooden table, and after a few more moments of anxious tapping, Kyoya looked up at her and questioned, "Where were you when you were missing for those ten years?"

"Ah, America."

"Why?"

"Dunno, just was. Family was murdered," Kyoya's eyes went slightly wide at that, but quickly went back to their natural state. At the word "Family" Alex felt her heart clench slightly. In a way, it was _like _her family was dead-she was never able to see them again, and in a way, she has it even worse. She can't even visit graves or anything like that, "some random dude, a friend of the murder I'm guessing, kidnapped me and took me to America and changed my name. You know, stuff like in the movies. All that lovely jazz. Kinda sucks though..." Alex's eyes became half-lidded as she frowned. Akari's memories started to affect her again, "I don't even remember much about them...yet there's this pain in my chest every time I think about them."

Kyoya looked at Alex, observing the short brunette for a moment, before resuming his typing.

"Why are you living with the twins?"

"They forced me too-said I was their new "toy". Bet you can tell how much fun that is."

"Not very fun, I take it."

"Yup!" She grinned at him, but he didn't take notice. "Anyway..." Alex tried to push all of "Akari's" feelings away. "Hey-! Door's opening!"

"Everyone," Tamaki started to shout, standing. "Positions!" Everyone quickly got in their position: Tamaki sat in a chair, his legs crossed with his hands on his lap, smiling charmingly. Hikaru stood behind him, hands in his pockets, smiling. On his left, was Kaoru, arms crossed, smiling the same smile as his brother. On his left, on Tamaki's right, stood Kyoya, his arms crossed with a small smile. Behind him, back-to-back with Kyoya, was Mori. And beside Kyoya, was Mitskuni, who had his arms behind his back, smiling widely. Alex stood there next to Mitskuni, grinning and giving the peace sign.

The door opened and rose petal instantly flew forward, attacking the poor guest. The Host Club spoke in unison, **"Welcome." **

Haruhi, with the messy, dark brown hair and thick rimmed glasses, the purple sweater, trembled with fear and shock as she pressed her back against the wall.

**One light bulb lights and flickers on. **

"Th-This is a H-Host Club!?" She cried out, alarmed.

**"Oh, wow, it's a boy!" **Hikaru and Kaoru exclaimed. They turned to Alex and grinned, slinging their arms around her shoulders, **"Looks like word spread around about you being a Hostess, huh?" **

"No, I think Haruhi just wandered in here by mistake." Alex replied, shrugging, rather bluntly.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, Alex, I believe this young man is in the same class as you three, isn't he?" Kyoya questioned, turning his head. Alex opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by the twins',

"**Yeah, but he's shy! He doesn't act very sociably so we don't know very much about him." **They replied, shrugging. Alex deflated slightly, feeling left out.

Kyoya looked at them with slightly wide eyes for a moment before turning his head, his trademark smirk finding its way onto his face.

**The second light bulb turns on almost instantly. **

"Well, that wasn't very polite." Kyoya mock scolded, before looking down at the ignored brunette, who was pouting at this point. "Alex, what do you know about him?"

"He used to be my neighbor before I was kidnapped." Alex explained, allowing Akari's memories to resurface. "He lives with his Dad, but that's about it."

"I see." He looked at Haruhi and said with a "smile","Welcome to the Ouran Host Club, Mr. Honor Student." In the background, Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other and shrugged.

"What!?" Tamaki exclaimed, standing up out of the chair with wide-eyes and cried out, "You must be the special Honor-Student, Haruhi Fujioka! The exceptional Honor Student that I've heard so much about!"

Haruhi stopped struggling with the door and looked at him with wide, fearful eyes, "H-How do you know my name?"

Kyoya answered, "Why, you're infamous. It's not everyday that a Commoner gains entrance into our Academy." Multiple eyes flew to Alex at that and Haruhi noticed. She straightened her posture and asked,

"I'm not the only one then?"

"No, Alex here transferred just yesterday." Kyoya replied easily. Alex grinned and said,

"You might or might not know me as Akari Ayuzawa." Haruhi's eyes went wide.

"W-Wait, you mean Akari _Akira _Ayuzawa?" _  
_

"Yup!"

"B-But you went missing-your family, you were all-you were all-"

"I'm alive!" Akari cheered, rushing towards Haruhi with her arms spread for a hug. Haruhi barely had time to shout before Alex-no, Akari's arms were around Haruhi's neck. "It's been so long-what happened to your hair? It used to be so long!"

"A kid got gum stuck in it, so I chopped it all off." Haruhi explained, trying to push Alex off of her. She completely forgot about the girls' hugs.

"And you're taller than me-that's so uncool, man!" Haruhi, standing at a height of 5'1, was only an inch taller than Alex, who stood at 5'0. "You're lucky...Damn tall people."

"As I said previously, you must have an audacious nerve to work your way into this school, Mr. Fujioka." Haruhi's eyebrow twitched, realizing she was getting insulted by rich people.

"W-Well, th-thank you, I guess..." Alex released Haruhi just as Tamaki moved over, clamping a hand on her shoulder.

"Your welcome! You're a hero, Mr. Fujioka! You showed that even _poor _people can work their way into an elite, private academy!" Haruhi scooted away from him, only to have him follow, ranting, "It must be hard for you to be so looked-down upon by others," Alex remembered the girl that threatened earlier.

"I think you're taking this poor thing too far." Haruhi told him, still backing away.

"Spurned, neglected! But it doesn't matter now," He wrapped an arm around Haruhi's shoulders again, "Long live the poor!"

Alex's eyebrow twitched, "We're not that poor, you know! At anything, we're average!" Keep in mind, this was _Alex _that was talking, not Akari.

Kyoya looked down at her and said, "What are you talking about? You're now living with rich people." She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it, thinking for a few moments, before saying,

"Touche, Kyoya, touche. You win this round, mister, but I shall win the next!" She laughed.

"We welcome you poor man, to our world..._of beauty!" _White roses bloomed around him and Haruhi calmly turned around and started to walk back towards the door.

"Yeah, I'm outta here." Haruhi headed back towards the doors and Alex waited for Mitskuni to make his entrance...

"Hey, come back here, Haru-Chan!" Mitskuni cried out, smiling widely as he wrapped his arms around her right. "You must be a superhero like Lexi-Chan! That's so cool!"

"S-Superhero?" Mitskuni nodded enthusiatically,

"Yeah! Lexi-Chan saved an old woman from getting robbed, and then she took a bullet for Kao-Chan even after they ran her over!"

"_What!?" _Haruhi's eyes went wide with shock as her face paled slightly. Her head snapped over to Alex, demanding an answer.

"It was nothing, really Haruhi!" Alex waved her hands in front of her. "It was, like, a month ago, anyway!"

"To be exact," Hikaru began, resting an elbow on her right shoulder. Kaoru did the same, only to her left shoulder,

"it was six months and a week." He finished.

"Can you guys get off?"

"I'm not a hero, I'm an Honor-student. And who are you calling Haru-Chan!?" Haruhi demanded, screaming at Mitskuni, who released her and cried. Tears fell from his eyes as he ran towards Takashi.

"I never would've imagined that the famous scholar...would be so openly bi?" Tamaki spoke, placing a hand on his chin in thought.

Haruhi breathed heavily and turned her head, looking at Tamaki confused, "Openly what?"

"So, tell me what kind of people you're into! Do you like the strong, silent type?" He gestured to Mori, who stood a 6'2 with spiky black hair and grey eyes, dark blue roses floating around him. "The boy lolita?" He gestured to Mitskuni, who stopped crying and looked up at Haruhi, pink flowers blooming around him. "How 'bout the Mischievous Type?" He questioned when he wasn't getting a reply. Hikaru and Kaoru locked arms and grinned, blue and orange flowers blooming around them. "Are you into the sarcastic, childish types?" He gestured to Alex, who struck a pose by placing her left hand on her hip and used her right hand, giving Haruhi a peace sign. Dark green roses bloomed around her. "Or the Cool type?" Then it was Kyoya, who smirked as purple roses bloomed.

"I-I, uh, it's not like that!" Haruhi stuttered, stepping backwards. "I was just looking for a quiet place to study!"

"Or, maybe..." Tamaki drawled on in seductive voice, stalking towards Haruhi before reaching over to her frozen form and caressing her cheeking, slowly, before stroking her chin, "You're into a guy like _me..._"

It was taking everything in Alex's will-power not to laugh.

"_Whattya say?" _Haruhi tensed up, causing Tamaki to lose his seductive face and looked at her confused, and watched as she backed away frantically,

"I was just looking for somewhere quiet! Please excuse me-!" She let out a gasp when her back hit against a column that was holding up a vase. She turned around just in time to watch it fall. It seemed to happen in slow motion-in both Haruhi's, and Alex's eyes.

Haruhi jumped up onto the column and leaned down, stretching out her arm in attempt to grasp the handle. Alex broke out into a run and jumped, falling to the ground and sliding on her side on the pink marble, attempting to catch the vase before it crashed-idiotically. She knew it was because of the broken vase that Haruhi joined the Host Club, but Alex's instincts made her react before she could think.

"I got it!" Alex cried out, catching the vase, only to have it roll out of her hands and onto the ground just as Haruhi breathed a sigh of relief. "Is it broke?" Haruhi moved around the column and knelt down next to her, face pale, and gingerly poked the vase.

They blinked and both of them screamed, alarmed. Haruhi's was more out of fear, while Alex's was shock. _How could a vase be that freaking fragile!? _

"Ah-! What're we supposed to do now!?" Hikaru complained, walking over with his brother and looking down at the mess annoyed, "We were going to feature that rune vase at the school auction!"

"Now you've done it, Commoner, the building on that vase was supposed to start at eight million yen!" Kaoru cried out, irritated. Alex began to have a panic attack, her fingers tapping rapidly against her thigh as her tears started to well up in her eyes, breathing becoming shallow.

_E-Eight million-Oh, my god. Oh, my god, oh, my god, oh my god-shit, oh my god! Wait-Wait-Wait...I'm-I'm already a Host and I'm living the Hitachiin brothers' so, they-they can't really do anything and it wasn't _me _who knocked the vase over, no it was Haruhi so I'm perfectly safe-right? Yeah, yeah, I'm perfectly safe- _Alex tried to level her breathing, coming to a reasonable solution. _I'm safe... _

"WHAAAAT!?" Haruhi practically screeched. She stood up straight, searching her pockets for her wallet, "I-I'll pay you back-!"

**"With what money?" **They asked her, raising their arms in a "I don't care" gesture, **"You can't even afford the school uniform-whats with that lame outfit?" **

"This...is my dad's." Haruhi said, fumbling with her clothing, "I couldn't find anything that looked like a uniform..."

Alex tried to pick up the glass, muttering- still in panic mode, "Glue-glue it back together, yeah, that could work...Tape? Nah, stick with glue, glue is good-_ow!" _Alex cried out in protest when she cut a finger on the glass. She lifted that hand up and placed her other hand down, only to cut her palm, "_Ow, damn it!" _She cursed, both hands bleeding.

She blinked when she saw a hand pick up a piece of glass, without cutting itself, and looked up to see Kyoya towering above her, a smirk on his face as he fiddled with the huge piece of glass he picked up.

"Well, what do you suggest we should do, Tamaki?" He questioned, his free hand on his hip. Haruhi froze, eyes wide, stress lines going down her face.

Tamaki sat down in his chair, legs crossed, "There's a famous saying you must've heard, Fujioka." He pointed at her, declaring dramatically, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". And since you have no money, you can pay with your body. Starting from today, you're the Host Club's dog." He almost looked menacing with the way his hair made shadows cross over his eyes.

Haruhi seemed to lose all color as she turned to stone. Tamaki noticed and walked over, waving a hand repeatedly in her face. Mitskuni poked her twice in the arm, saying, "Poke, poke?"

Alex grinned and with her right hand, the one with the cut finger, knocked her on the head, asking loudly, "Hello!? Anyone home~!?"

Kyoya stood there with his arms crossed, Mori had a hand in one of his pockets, and Hikaru and Kaoru had their hands in their pockets, leaning over.

They stood there like that for a few moments, before Haruhi fell over.

Alex spoke up, "Uh, guys? I think we killed her..." Nobody seemed to notice her change in terms, except Kyoya, who looked down at her with flashing glasses.

"Oh, Alex?" Alex looked up at the dark-haired man, who pushed up his glasses, "Don't think I didn't see you cut yourself-twice, on the glass. Come, we'll get you patched up."

"I-I'm fine," She argued, "I'll take care of it later."

"By later, if you mean when you get an infection and your hands and finger will need to come off, then you are truly an idiot. My family works in medical expertise, a simple cut to the hand is nothing. I expect to see you in the kitchen once I grab the supplies."

Alex grumbled unintelligably, before muttering a sarcastic, "Yes, "Mother."

"What was that?" He asked, glasses flashing as he turned his head to look at her. She raised her hands in defense, closing her eyes,

"Nothing, nothing! I was merely talking to myself! I _do _tend to do that, you know."

"Hm." He said nothing.


	5. Burns and Passports

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila.**

Kyoya calmly wrapped the bandages around Alex's palm. Alex sat there awkwardly at the table and watched silently as Kyoya worked his magic. Alex almost snorted at that thought. _-as Kyoya worked his magic? Oh, my god...That's a new one! __  
_

"Next time, do try to be more careful when picking up glass. The guests' will be frantic with worry when they see your hands." Alex almost sweatdropped, _I should've known that he was telling me that out of the goodness of his heart. He's still wearing his mask. _He gave her a shit-eating grin that basically _oozed _intimidation. But, Alex was not one to be intimidated. She had her fair share of bullies and they never bothered her none-though they tried.

"Yes, yes, I'll try my _very _hardest, Mother dearest. I'm sure Daddy will be pleased to hear that I'm alive and kicking. He almost threw a panic attack when he saw the blood on my hands-_after _you pointed it out." She flinched when Kyoya tightened the bandage on purpose, his glasses flashing dangerously. "Okay, okay, I get it-don't kill me! Geesh..."

"There, I'm done." Kyoya spoke up after a few moments of silence, typing the bandage in a knot.

"That was fast..." Alex spoke, eyes slightly wide. She looked up at Kyoya and said, "Thanks..." And studied him for a moment. A diamond shaped face, high cheek bones, narrow, calculating brown-gray eyes, thin-rimmed glasses...Alex felt her heart clench again. It may have just been because of the glasses, but they reminded her of him. "You...remind me of someone." Kyoya paused in what he was doing and looked back at her, a small smirk crawling its way onto his face,

"Oh, do I? Do tell."

"...Liam." The lump formed in her throat and she felt her eyes sting slightly, so she closed them, inhaling deeply. "It's probably only because of the glasses, but you remind me of him. He was one of my best friends-back in America, I mean. Along with Ellena and Raph... But, I can't even see them anymore..."

"Can't as in unable, or can't as in won't?"

"Unable." Alex replied, "It's sucks, really."

"How so?" Alex let a small, sad grin cross her face.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." That peaked Kyoya's interest. He pushed up his glasses and his eyes searched hers for an answer. He spoke up after a moment,

"Try me."

"I died the moment that limo hit me."

"...Nice try." Alex shrugged, all seriousness gone.

"You were the one who told me to try you and that came out wrong." Alex felt her face heat up and groaned, burying her face in her hands, "I mean that-that you wanted me to try to tell you-not _try _you-gah! You know what I mean!"

"Do I?" Alex glared at him, removing her hands from her face.

"Oh, hardy har har, Mr. I'm-so-dark-and-scary-I know-everything!"

...

"Oh, my! Alex, what happened to your hand?"

"Are you okay-it isn't serious, is it?"

Alex looked surprised at all the questions she was receiving. She didn't think that they would _care _this much. In fact, she didn't think they'd care at all. Alex was hated by most girls' back in her dimension-most of her friends were guys. Alex blinked and lifted her hand up, saying with a grin, "No, no, it's fine! I just cut it on some glass, is all!"

"Oh, that's relief..."

"We thought it was really serious for a moment..."

"The only thing serious about me is when I go eat food!" Alex replied with a wide grin, and said with a nod, eyes closed, frowning comically, "Food is a _very _serious matter."

The girls' giggled.

"May I interrupt?" Alex looked up to see the dark-haired beauty from earlier, Akira. "I do believe it's _my _turn."

"Oh, yes! Sorry for taking up your time, Alex-Chan." One of the girls, Akiko, apologized.

"We'll request you again tomorrow! It's really nice being able to talk to another girl for once." She waved and the two girls' left.

"Bye-bye!" Alex called after them, waving with a grin. Akira felt her eyebrow twitch. Alex was so childish...

"How immature." Akira commented. Alex looked at her and frowned, replying back instantly,

"Says the one who's complaining about it and threatened me yesterday over a couple of boys'." Akira narrowed her dark eyes at Alex as she sat down, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her lap. "I don't see you threatening all the other girls', so, I'm curious. Why me?" Alex may be childish, but she need to know. Curiosity, despite how she hates it at time, was one of her traits. She may act childish, but in fact, she was actually rather mature. "Why are you threatening _me _over all the other girls' here? What did I ever do to you?"

"The Host Club members are flocking _all over _you and that newbie. You're threatening us girls' chances with the Host Club members. And you're especially threatening _my _chances at being with _Kyoya_."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up, rewind!" Alex looked at the girl incredulously, "You think I _like _Kyoya? Dude, you've got problems! I don't like _anyone__!" _

_Except Liam...and he's not even here. I'll never see him again... _Alex felt her heart clench at the thought and she swallowed, trying to remain calm.

"Then why are you always hanging around them?"

"Because I'm _forced _too? I didn't exactly want to join the club, thank you very much. It was only because one of the girls' asked if I was a part of the club that Kyoya told her I was and I was pretty much forced to join."

"So it _was _because of Kyoya. See, you're polluting their minds with your Commoner filth."

"Um, woman, stop twisting my words."

"I'm not twisting."

"Yes, yes, because it's physically impossible to take the words out of my mouth and twist them with your hands." Alex replied, rolling her eyes sarcastically. "What next? "No, I'm not bullying you because I'm jealous?" What? If you're going to threaten me, I'd at least like to know why." Akira said nothing, merely looking at Alex with shock and anger, her dark eyes wide. "Well, I'm gonna go talk to Haruhi if you aren't gonna say anything. Peace out!" Alex gave her a grin and peace sign, "Bye, see ya later!" Alex made to stand up, only to feel hot coffee splash against her skin and clothes. "!" Alex felt a scream make its way out of her mouth.

"ALEX!" She barely registered Tamaki's voice in her moment of pain. She heard the clip-clap of running shoes and saw him standing in front of her blurry, tears pricking her eyes. "Are you okay-what happened here?"

Akira's eyes only narrowed more at the sight in front of her. She quickly forced her face back to normal once Tamaki looked at her, demanding, "What happened?"

"I-I-" Akira opened her mouth, trying to think of an excuse. Alex beat her to it, grounding her teeth together,

"I'm fine...I-I knocked the cup over with my elbow when I tried to stand...I-I'm fine." Alex swallowed hard, trying to blink the tears away as Tamaki placed his hands on her shoulder gently. "It-It's just a bit of coffee..."

"Hot coffee, Alex!" Tamaki snapped, narrowing his blue eyes, "You are most certainly _not _fine, Mori-Sempai! Make sure Alex gets to the infirmary!"

"I-I'm fine-!" Alex barely had time to protest before she was scooped up by Mori bridal-style and was racing down the halls. She screamed, "PUT ME DOOOOWN!" Alex did _not _like heights. Mori did not relent and still ran until they arrived at the First Nurses's Office.

"An injury." Mori told the nurse, who looked at them in surprise, seeing how he pretty much slammed the door open. "Alex was burned."

"I'm fine-!" She let out another shout when her arm brushed against his chest, pain flaring through it.

"Set her down, quickly. I'll get the ointments." Mori quickly placed Alex down on the bed. The Nurse soon returned and forced Alex to take off her jacket and roll up her sleeves to her shoulders. "What happened?" She questioned, Mori sitting down in the corner of the room. Alex flinched slightly at the cold touch, but replied,

"I-I accidentally knocked a cup over with my elbow when I tried to stand." She lied. Akira grew enraged and threw one of the cups towards her. "Tamaki-Sempai freaked out and ordered Mori-Sempai to bring me here."

"No, I mean, to your shoulder. That scar..." Alex looked surprised, she completely forgot about it, in all honesty.

"Oh, um, bullet wound."

"You were shot!?"

"Y-Yeah, but it was just in the shoulder. Kaoru would've been shot in the head and dead if I didn't move in time."

"You're brave, you know that?" The nurse told, but with a slight scolding look. "But too much bravery is a bad thing, you'll end up hurting yourself to the point where you can't be repaired."

"I-I'm more cowardly than I am brave, believe it or not..." She was scared of heights, big spiders, just finds bugs gross in general...And she doesn't like trying new food. She also rather hesitant and cautious. It doesn't show a lot on the outside, but it does in the inside.

"Hm, well, from now on, I want you to be more careful and observant of your surroundings, got that? I don't want to find you in here again with an injury like this. Nurse's orders."

Alex grinned and with her good hand, gave a two-fingered salute. "Aye-Aye, Cap'n!"

After a good five minutes, the Nurse was finally done. "There, the burns shouldn't cause you too much trouble, but I still want you to be careful from now on. They won't fully heal for at least two days."

"Got it, thanks!" Alex replied cheerfully and made to get up, only to be stopped by the Nurse,

"I mean it now. Don't go putting yourself into anymore dangerous situations." Alex looked at the Nurse surprised and felt a small smile spread on her face. The Nurse had curly brown hair and light brown eyes, her hair tied up in a messy bun. Thin-rimmed glasses covered her eyes and you could make out small freckles. _Mom... _Alex felt the tears sting her eyes and she smiled, closing them, and said,

"Don't-Don't worry, I promise, I'll be good." The Nurse smiled at her and nodded,

"Good. You can go now." Alex stood up and walked towards the door, turning her head to talk to Mori, only to find him gone. She blinked confused. _Where'd he go? _

"That's...not weird at all-nope, completely normal!" Alex then realized her shirt was still wet and whined, "Gross...Eh, I'll live...They're rich, they can just buy a new one if they need too." She walked out into the hallway and realized...She looked both directions, panic growing quickly, "W-Which way is the Host Club again...?" South hall? No...North hall! No..."I don't know!" She cried out, before doing what she always does when lost...and alone...Wander around aimlessly until she finds what she's looking for.

It's probably been a good half hour since she started to wander aimlessly and tears were already pricking Alex's eyes. _It...It can't be that hard to find one room, right? I-I mean..._"I mean, it-it isn't that hard..." _I don't know what to do... _

"Alex?" Her head snapped up at the deep, feminine voice and hope filled her as she whirled around,

"Haruhi!?" Her eyes went wide and a smile crossed her childish face, "Haruhi!" She raced towards the brunette, who was carrying a grocery bag in her arms, and hugged her, "Thank goodness! I thought I was going to be wandering around here forever and ever and ever! Please don't even leave me again!"

Haruhi sweatdropped at that. "Uh...Sure, Alex...Anyway, the Host Club is this way..."

Alex looked at Haruhi confused, "How'd you know I was-Oh, right...Der, I feel stupid!" She smacked herself on the head, releasing the girl. "Welp, onwards!" Haruhi sighed and shook her head, leading Alex back to the Host Club.

"Speak of the devil!" Tamaki spoke up once he caught sight of Haruhi and Alex entering the room, "Welcome back, Little Piglet! Did you get everything on our list?"

"Piglet...What?" Haruhi was greatly confused.

"Ah, Alex, you're back! Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just a few minor burns, they'll heal in about two days though." She explained, grinning. She was in a "Safe" zone. She was comfortable here. "By the way, where did Mori-Sempai vanish too?"

"Oh, he and Honey-Sempai have Kendo Club. They should be back soon though." Alex nodded, acting as if she understood.

"Oohh...Okay, got it."

"Hey, wait a minute," Alex blinked and looked up, not seeing Haruhi move from next to her over to Tamaki, who was now rummaging through the grocery bag and holding up a canister of Instant Coffee, "I don't recognize this. What is this?"

"Just what it looks like," She explained. "It's coffee." Alex felt a grin grow onto her face-she was _literally _witnessing what many fangirls of the modern age _dreamed _of seeing! And Alex was here and _watching_ and _interacting _with all the characters! It's like an Otome game come true! _I still can't believe this is happening... _It was hard to believe, yet so easy at the same time.

"I've never seen this brand before-is this the kind that's already ground?" Tamaki questioned her, confused.

"What do you mean; It's instant coffee." Haruhi replied, still not understand his strange ways. Two girls, sitting across the couch from Tamaki, tilted their heads and asked simultaneously in confusion,

**"It's instant?" **

Tamaki realized what it was quickly, "Whoa! I've heard of this before, it's Commoner's coffee! You just add hot water!"

"I didn't know there was such a thing," One of the girls' on the couch said. She had curly brown hair. The one next to her had dark hair and too much lipstick. They were surrounded by all the other guests' in the club.

"So, it's true then!" The too-much-lipstick girl spoke up, amazed. "Commoner's don't even have enough free-time to brew their own coffee beans!"

"No," Alex spoke up, slightly annoyed by this point. "It's quicker and it saves time."

"Commoners are pretty smart," Kyoya commented from beside Alex, causing the girl to jump and look at him with wide eyes,

"When the hell did you get here!?"

"A few moments ago, you should really pay more attention."

"Sh-Shove off!" She fired back, slightly embarrassed. She then noticed Hikaru, who was beside Kyoya, and the other guests who were beside him. She turned her head to look at Haruhi, who had Kaoru beside her, who had guests beside him. _They move quickly... _

"One hundred grams for three hundred yen?" Hikaru asked, reading from the canister over Tamaki's shoulder, surprised.

"That's a lot less than what we usually buy," Kaoru commented, also surprised. Haruhi snapped,

"I'll go back and get you guys something else! Excuse me for not buying you guys expensive coffee..."

"No, I'll keep it!" Tamaki spoke, raising a hand in the air. The girls' looked at him surprised. He stood up, a hand on his hip- causing Kyoya to lean backwards with crossed arms. Alex placed a hand on his back to keep him from falling over, "I'm going to go give it a try." While everyone else, except Kyoya, Haruhi, and Alex, gasped in shock, Ayanokoji calmly sipped from her cup of tea. He held the canister in the air, "I will drink this coffee!" He declared, causing everyone, minus Kyoya, Alex, Haruhi, and Ayanokoji, to clap and stare at him in admiration. "Alright Haruhi," He said with a smile, "Get over here and make some of this Commoners Coffee."

Alex felt a laugh bubble up in her throat at Haruhi's face. She was probably thinking something along the lines of, _Damn rich people... _or something of the sort._  
_

"They are playing around way too much," Both commoners' heard Ayanokoji speak-They looked at her surprised, "their is no way that they'd be able to drink that, it won't suit their tastes." The girl realized what she said and apologized, smiling at them, "I'm sorry, I was talking to myself."

"O...kay?" Haruhi said, unsure of what to do. Alex nodded slowly,

"Yeah..." _Suuuure you were-then what was with that smile, huh? _

"Haruhi~! Alex~!"

"I'm comin'." Haruhi said annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, we're goin', we're goin'!" Alex replied, irritated at the sing-song voice and the way he said her name. Haruhi quickly poured the coffee and everyone was offered a cup,

"Don't blame me if it doesn't suit your tastes," Haruhi said bluntly, sweatdropping. Tamaki smirked, looking down at Haruhi, chuckling slightly,

"Heh, you think it won't suit our tastes?" Hikaru offered Alex a cup and she shook her head,

"N-No thank you, I don't drink coffee." He shrugged,

"Your loss."

"I'm a little scared to drink this stuff," One girl admitted, nervous.

"I'm afraid that my dad will get mad at me." Another spoke. Tamaki quickly went over to that girl and placed a hand to her waist, pulling her close, and gripped her chin, asking seductively,

"What if I let you drink...from my mouth?"

"W-Well then, I would drink it!" Tamaki released the girl, who was now more than willing to drink the coffee, and raised his cup high in the air, declaring, "Cheers to Commoners' Coffee!"

Haruhi sighed from her spot beside Alex, "I hate all these damn rich people..." Alex laughed loudly and clapped Haruhi on the back a few times,

"Dere, dere, it'll all be over soon!"

"I wish..."

Akira moved over to sit next to Ayanokoji, whispering, "Drinking such a thing... Tamaki is starting to go crazy. Don't you think so, Princess Ayanokoji? And that girl, Alex, she's also diverting their attention from us..."

"Tamaki is merely being kind to the peasant boy, though being so kind is a problem, too...And that girl...She has exclusive access to the Hosts, which we do not..." Ayanokoji replied, frowning deeply as she put a hand to her chin, "She seems to be getting especially close to your Kyoya..."

Akira's eyes narrowed, "I don't like her _or _that Commoner, one bit. Their ruining all of our hard work!"

"Haruhi! I want another cup!" Tamaki declared, holding up his cup. Haruhi stared at him in disbelief,

"You liked it?"

"Of course! This inelegant flavor and wonderfully bland taste makes me want it more!"

"Of course..." Haruhi deadpanned, greatly annoyed. Alex stared up at Kyoya with a raised eyebrow,

"I don't get it-what's so good about coffee? It's disgusting." Kyoya looked down at her and replied,

"Nothing, really, it just gets the job done."

"And what job is that exactly?"

"Keeping me awake." Her lips formed a small "o" shape in understanding,

"O-Okay, that makes sense..."

...

Alex didn't know whether or not if she should squeal or just be plain freaked out by the "Brotherly Love" act. Mori walked in with Honey on his back, Honey rubbing his eyes sleepily,

"Sorry we're late..."

"Hello Honey! Hey Mori!" A girl greeted.

"We've been waiting here for you guys!" Another girl explained, smiling as Mori pulled Honey off of his shoulders and gently set him down on the ground.

"Hi!" Another girl greeted.

"I'm sorry," Honey apologized, looking like an adorable little kid who just woke up. "I was waiting for Takashi to finish his Kendo Meeting and I fell asleep..." He sat down on one of the couches lazily, tired, "And I'm still not...completely awake." He yawned and wiped at his eyes, pink flowers blooming around. Mori was completely silent as the girls' squealed,

**"So cute~!" **

"Aww!" Alex felt a small smile form on her face, "He's like a little kid!" Haruhi, from beside Alex, questioned aloud,

"Is that boy really a third-year student?"

"Yup." Alex answered, just as Kyoya spoke up from behind them,

"Honey-Sempai may seem young and childish, but he's a prodigy." He explained, causing Alex to jump in surprise and Haruhi to turn to look at him.

"When did you get there!?" Alex snapped, alarmed. He seemed to smirk,

"Just a few moments ago."

"You said that earlier, too!"

He continued, "Anyway, Mori-Sempai's allure is his strong and silent disposition." Haruhi didn't know quite what to say to tat.

"Haru-Chan!" Honey cried out with a grin, flying forward and grabbing onto her arm, "Lexi-Chan!" Alex let out a shout when he grabbed onto her's as well. "Hey, Lexi-Chan, Haru-Chan, do you guys wanna have some cake with me!?"

"Thanks, but I don't really like sweets..." Haruhi trailed off. He looked up at Alex, who hesitated.

"I-I'd love too, but I'm not in the mood right. M-Maybe later?"

"Then how would you like to hold my bunny, Usa-Chan?" he questioned, looking at the two of them.

"I'm not into bunnies," Haruhi replied, while Alex frowned. Bunnies were adorable...Momiji! Gotta love _Fruits Basket_. Honey had tears in his eyes at Haruhi's reply.

"Are you saying you don't like Usa-Chan?" He lifted up the pink bunny. Haruhi stared at it through her Grandfather glasses for a few moments.

"I guess he is kinda cute, huh?" Haruhi asked, leaning down to look at it with a small smile on her face. Alex grinned widely and cheered, pumping a fist in the air,

"Yeah! Even Haruhi cannot resist the cuteness of the Usa-Chan!" Honey looked up at Haruhi with wide eyes.

**A light bulb blinked a few times before turning on. **

He gave Haruhi the bunny and ran off, crying out, "Take good care of him!"

"You notice that our club utilizes each man and girl's," He looked at Alex out of the corner of his eyes, "characteristics to cater to the desires of our guests. Just so you know, Tamaki is our number one around here. He the King. His request rate is seventy percent. Seven out of ten people request him."

"What's this world coming to?" Haruhi asked herself, holding onto Usa-Chan. Alex will admit it, she was jealous. She wanted to hold the stuffed animal too-not that she would say it out loud, of course.

"In order for you to pay off your eight-million yen debt with us," Kyoya began, smiling his Shadow King smile, "you will act as the Host Club's dog until you graduate." He turned to her and smiled, looking down at her, "I'm sorry, I meant our errand boy." Haruhi looked up at him with wide eyes. "You can try to run away if you want, Haruhi, but just so you know, my family has a Police force of One Hundred officers."

Alex always wanted to say this- She quickly made a motion of pushing up her glasses (They broke in chapter 1) and mimicked Kyoya who did the same, speaking in complete unison, **"By the way, do you have a passport?" **He would make her leave Japan. Kyoya looked down at Alex surprised, eyes widening just a fraction. She never stopped grinning and resisted the urge to squeal, due to the fact that she pretty much said that line. And in unison!

"Make sure you work hard, my little nerd." Tamaki said, walking up behind Haruhi and blowing on her neck. She shivered and ran forward, rubbing her neck furiously.

"Please don't do that again."

"That's one of my best techniques!" He informed her, slightly surprised at her response. "If you keep looking like that, no girl is going to look twice at you."

"Yeah, well, I'm not trying to get girls' to look at me." Haruhi replied.

"Are you _kidding _me? That's the most important thing! You have to learn to be a gentleman and please the ladies!" He took out a white rose. Haruhi snapped him out of it with her blunt comments,

"I just don't think it's all that important." She began, and Alex started to listen intently. _The speech... _"Why should I care about appearances anyway? I mean, all that really matters is on the inside, right?"

"She gets it!" Alex accidentally blurted out, causing people to look at her. She hesitated for a moment before walking towards Haruhi, clamping her hands on her shoulders, "The only one with common sense! I mean, seriously, would you honestly date someone who was pretty even though you don't get along at all or if he was a total jerk to you? Be honest here, people, would you?" She asked, looking around her. She looked at Tamaki, at Haruhi, at Kyoya, to the guests-to everyone.

"Well, no...You have a point but..." Tamaki trailed off, hesitantly. He quickly went off into rant, drama mode again, "It's so barbarous! God sometimes create such perfect bodies like mine! Not like I mean to brag about it...I know you must need to tell yourself; otherwise, how would you live with yourself!? Why is there art in a museum? Yes, to show off the beauty it possesses to the world! Therefore, I'm beauty! I founded this club for those hungers, and I don't skimp in my effort to pursue that beauty!"

"I got it!"

"You understood-" She cut Tamaki off, pointing at him.

"Obnoxious."

Alex burst out laughing as Tamaki sat down in the middle of the floor, moping. Hikaru and Kaoru laughed, placing their elbows on her head.

"You're a hero alright." Hikaru commented, grinning as Kaoru chuckled.

"Not many people can hurt him that much!" Kaoru told her, grinning as he laughed.

"I made him so depressed..." She said, eyes wide.


	6. A Change of Plot

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila. **

"I only said what I thought..." Haruhi continued, surprised at Tamaki's response. "Um, Sempai?"

"Call me "King"." Tamaki said stubbornly, knees tucked to his chest. "I go by that here-otherwise, I don't know you."

"O-Okay, then..Kin-" She was cut off by Hikaru pushing Tamaki onto his side with his foot, carrying a tray full of cups to a table.

"Argh, your in the way, boss!" Kaoru accidentally stepped on him.

"Don't just slack off from work, boss!" Kyoya walked over to inform Tamaki, holding up his little black book,qqqq

"You have many customers waiting for you, Tamaki."

"Tamaki-Sempai..." Alex was unsure of what to do as she stared at the blonde beside her. "A-Are you alright?" This was awkward...But it was safe to say nobody called him "King" around here. Though, if you went by chess terms, Tamaki is the "King", Kyoya is the "Queen", Hikaru and Kaoru are the "Rooks" and Mori and Honey are the "Knights". Alex, and Haruhi even if she isn't a member yet, is a "Pawn".

Haruhi tried again, scratching the side of her head, "I'm sorry, Sempai," She apologized, unsure. "but your lesson _did _strike a small cord with me..." She really hoped that would work. Fortunately, it did as he stood up. Unfortunately, it made him turn around with a "Charming" smile and blooming white roses as he extended his hand out to her.

"Really? Then let me teach you more!" Haruhi sighed,

"I just wanted a quiet place to study..." Tamaki looked at her surprised,

"What, why? What about your home?"

"My father brings his lover during the day time-he has a night job." Haruhi explained. Tamaki gained a sad look on his face,

"Oh...You don't get along with your father, do you? And that's why he doesn't pay for your tuition."

"Oh, no, we get along just fine! Though I don't like it when he spends to much money. It's just that, well, I want to bother him as little as possible," She explained, a small smile forming on her face. "He brought me up for ten years by himself, after all. I thought I should do whatever I can..."

Alex blinked at the story and the way she said, unable to come up with a response. She didn't even know how to react-which is why she was grateful when Tamaki became his usual idiot self.

"...That kind of environment is pitiful isn't it?" Tamaki questioned, fingers to his chin in thought as he observed her.

"Huh? Not really-"

"And your diet is white carrot rice, as I expected?" He interrogated, drawing out a question mark from Haruhi who was _very _confused. Even Alex was and she was about to speak up, asking what he was talking about, when he cut her off by gripping Haruhi's shoulders and leaning in close, crying out with tears in his eyes, "Being so poor you have to act as a servant to rich people or the rich people are mean and overwork you and you have to cry yourself to sleep!?"

Haruhi cried out in shock and confusion, "What time era are you talking about!?"

Tamaki backed up, taking a tissue from a left-out Alex, and sobbed, apologizing, "I'm sorry...I've been watching _Oshin_ lately and it's my favorite..." Alex raised an eyebrow at that. She never heard of it. _ "I didn't know you were the model of that girl..." _

"I'm not," Haruhi responded, slightly annoyed. "The story is totally different." Tamaki snapped out of it, throwing the tissue away and raising an index finger, serious.

"Okay, Haruhi, it's time to learn!" His cerulean blue eyes focused on her, "It may be impossible with your looks, but I'll train you thoroughly! Let's see...you could probably get about...100 costumers!" He declared, causing Haruhi to turn to stone. Alex blinked at Haruhi, surprised, _I didn't think that was physically possible...Huh, it really is a different dimension. _She laughed to herself softly. Tamaki continued, "If you can get 100 people to request you, we'll forget about your debt and you'll be a star of the _Oshin _World!"

"No..._NOOOOOOOOO!" _Haruhi screamed, falling to the ground and screaming, clutching her head, _"I'd rather do chores!" _

Alex flinched, "That's cold..." She quickly moved over to a distressed, currently color-less Haruhi, patting her back awkwardly, "Dere, dere, Haruhi..." _How on earth do people comfort each other? Ellena...wish you were here. You'd know what to do. _"It'll all be over in a few years...Soon."

... Next Day...

Alex sat at the table Kyoya was at, feeling extremely left-out. Her arms were crossed on the table, chin resting on them as she unconsciously pouted. _I'm always left-out...Then again, I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm already ruining the plot of the story as is and I highly doubt anyone is even going to care about me. They all end up falling for Haruhi anyway-well, except Honey-Sempai, he gets with that Black Magic club girl...Nobody probably even wants to talk to me anyway. They're only putting up with me because I'm a Hostess and I get the club more profit...They'll probably forget all about me once Tamaki figures out that Haruhi is a girl and make her a Host. They'll all ditch me...In all honesty, I'd ditch me too. Hehe...Okay, stop it. Stop-Stop thinking brain, you're down-grading yourself. Stop it, Alex. _

Alex sighed, irritated with herself. She doesn't like to be left-out. Call her selfish or call her childish and immature-its how she is.

Kyoya paused in his typing and glanced up at the small girl, who sighed for at least the fifth time, eyes hidden behind his glasses. He debated whether or not how troublesome the income might be before asking, "Problems?"

She replied with the half-truth, "Bored", and resumed pouting. She resembled a small child that was forbidden from eating the cookies until she finished her vegetables.

"Is that so?" He frowned, that wasn't much of an answer. But it wasn't like he needed to get into her business or anything, so Kyoya resumed typing.

Alex glanced up at the dark-haired man who typed, and typed, and typed away to Wonderland. A grin spread across her face, _Maybe even to Narnia. Oh, I think I lost the TARDIS there again...Really need to reopen that wardrobe. _She snickered to herself,

"Find something amusing?" Kyoya inquired, causing the girl to freeze and look up at him with wide-eyes.

"Um, just a random thought, really. What'cha doin'?" She asked curiously.

"Typing in documents."

"Of?" She prodded, wanting to know. Kyoya looked at her through her glasses, raising an eyebrow.

"The Host Club, of course. What I want to know is," He changed the subject, resting his chin on his fist as he propped his elbow up on the table, "why I can't find out very much about you in the files?" Alex knew he wasn't talking about only the school files-no, he meant every file out there that included her. Like birth certificates, hospital files, that kind of thing. Alex felt a small half-smirk cross her face.

"Is that so?" She questioned, the half-smirk turning out into a full blown grin, "How strange...That's completely weird-I don't know what could be wrong. I mean, other than the fact that I don't exist, according to the doctors."

"Explain yourself." Alex grinned widely at that, the scar from her ear to the top of her chin making her seem slightly sadistic.

"I told you already, didn't I? I died."

"If you were dead, then you would not be talking to me right now." Alex sighed and pressed her palms to the sides of her face, dragging her hands over her face and groaning, before face-planting into the desk.

"It's complicated."

"Define "complicated"." Kyoya practically ordered. Alex turned her head so that her right cheek laid against the table and her eyes moved to look at Kyoya, "Just who are you? Where are you from?"

"Fifteen years ago an enigma gave a paradox a hug." Alex replied, slightly quoting Mozzy, but changing the line up a little. "To be honest, I don't even know who I am anymore. My life changed, drastically, just because I decided to risk my life and help out a old lady. And complicated? Well...Um, extremely. But I think I understand most of it." Alex trailed off slightly and lifted her head, sitting up straight and looking at Tamaki, who was instructing Haruhi on how to place a cup down. She watched as he scolded her and shook her head, _Why? Why me? _Alex sighed again, slinking back into her chair. _It's not so much as being left-out as it is being from another dimension. Everything is so different, yet so familiar at the same time. _Alex opened her eyes and gazed at her left hand-which looked as though it was drawn and colored by an anime-artist. She curled her fingers on her left hand and tried to make a fist-only to find her fingers unable to make one. She could get it halfway there, but not fully.

She lifted her hand up to her head and ran it through her hair. It felt the same-the small, thick strands of hair that connected to her head and ended a little below her shoulders. It grew out a bit, so it was now under her shoulderblades.

_"I'm so sorry," _Akari's apology rang in Alex's head like a broken record, _"I am so sorry. I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I'm so sorry, please forgive me." _Alex felt her eyes sting from tears and blinked a few times, forcing the tears away. _I won't cry...Not here, not now. I have plenty of time to cry later. _

"Everyone! We are going to try the peasants' Ramen!" Tamaki declared suddenly, causing Alex to snap out of her thoughts and nearly knock over a cup of tea.

"Whoa!" She cried out, quickly placing a hand down and stopping it from falling. "Phew..." She sighed in relief.

"Nothing about this is related to hosting!" Haruhi exclaimed in disbelief, as all the Hostess and Hosts lined up at table, ready to cook ramen.

"I call dibs on the chicken flavoring!" Alex cried out, raising a hand up and waving it back and forth furiously.

"Okay, Alex gets the chicken flavoring," Tamaki announced, causing Hikaru and Kaoru to whine.

**"But, boss~! We were going to use that flavor-!" **

"Ladies first, you two! Learn some manners!" They pouted. Alex laughed and cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

"Yosh! Daddy's awesome!" Tamaki beamed at that,

"Yes, yes "Daddy" is! Darling daughter is wonderful!" He tried to get back on track, "Now, everyone, try to make a different type of Ramen! Follow the teacher's instructions!"

...

"There's hot water for both three minutes and four minutes."

"What's the difference?"

"Do we have to throw away the water once?"

"Stupid, you don't throw water away, you pour it down the sink!"

"Mustard mayo stings my eyes~!"

Mori lifted his lid off of his fried noodles pot and was silent for a few moments... "My ingredients are stuck to the lid." He mumbled in disbelief and confusion. Haruhi gasped and looked up at Mori in surprise,

"Whoa...He spoke." Alex laughed at her amazement,

"Mori-Sempai _isn't _a mute, you know. He's just really quiet." She then let Haruhi proceed to explain what went wrong-her being the expert in cooking.

"If you put the ingredients in the bottom of the pot in the beginning, then that wouldn't happen." She showed him what to do and Tamaki cried out in astonishment,

"What an amazing technique! The Commoners' technique! No, the Commoners' theory!" He started spouting out random titles before turning to Haruhi and pulling her face close to his, tears just about falling out from his eyes, "You are wonderful! May I express my thanks with my body...? A thank you kiss for you!"

"Please don't." Haruhi deadpanned, pulling away slightly, "It's rather uncomfortable." White and red roses bloomed around them and Hikaru spoke,

"It doesn't fit the picture, does it Kaoru?" The observed the couple closely, Kaoru nodding in agreement.

"I agree with you Hikaru, the situation doesn't add up."

Alex blinked when she suddenly found herself between the Hitachiin brothers'. She blinked again, twice more, then screamed out of shock. "HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN!?"

"You see," Hikaru began explaining with a smile. "females love two beautiful homosexuals together. It makes a nice plot to have two male characters who have trouble deciding to further the friendship or not-by the way, I'm Hikaru."

"I'm Kaoru, just so you know. In our case, us both being twins, not to mention brothers, happen to be our weapon. We have the beauty of symmetry." Alex immediately had an image of Hikaru and Kaoru meeting Death the Kid.

_"The Symmetry!" Death the Kid cried out, pressing his hands against his cheeks as his golden eyes glowed with happiness and joy. "So...perfectly...the beauty is..." _

_Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other confused and asked, **"What's his problem?"**_

She smiled to herself softly, remembering that anime. She blinked when Hikaru and Kaoru suddenly caressed her face and cupped her cheeks, leaning in and whispering, loud enough for Haruhi to hear, "In addition, you will be loved by the two with such a deep bond at the same time!"

Alex felt her face burn and embarrassment bubble up quickly, uncomfortable with the new situation and unsure of how to react.

Kaoru continued, "Isn't that every girls' fantasy?"

Alex finally decided on leaning away, speaking, "Um...No. Sorry, buddy, but, back off." They looked at her and shrugged, Hikaru grinning,

"Aw, Kaoru, look how cute she is! So innocent."

"She's only into monogamous relationships!" Kaoru added, grinning from ear to ear.

_Isn't that the opposite of Polygamy? Yeah... _"Um, yeah, what's wrong with that?" She didn't even have time to blink before she was being suffocated in a sandwich-hug.

**"It means we can't share you!" **They whined.

"Let go of me!" Alex cried out, struggling, "Lemme go! Lemme go, lemme go, lemme go! Kyoya-Sempai, help me out here!" _Wait...Oh, yeah, I know him better than anyone else here, really. I only really talk to him. Oh...Okay then. _

"Why should I? What could I possibly benefit from that?"

"I-I dunno, the awesomeness of my friendship!?"

"Is that what you call it?"

**"Our Alex!" **The twins' growled before realizing they were staring down the Shadow King-who was at the table, still sitting. He merely turned his head to look at them and they released her.

"Kyoya-Sempai, my hero!" Alex cried out dramatically as she dropped to the floor. She huffed, "I would give you a hug, but you're too far away and I'm lazy."

"Anyway," Hikaru cleared his throat, shivers still going up and down his spine. "you, Commoner, don't even pass the first condition."

"We wasted out time explaining," Kaoru said, annoyed. Tamaki, who made his way over next to the twins', looked at Haruhi thoughtfully and said,

"And once again, the visual. Maybe if we took off the glasses," Tamaki mumbled to himself, walking over to Haruhi and grabbing the Grandfather glasses, pulling them odd. "then again, it might only make the eyes smaller. What's with these old-fashioned glasses anyway?"

"They were my Grandfather's," Haruhi explained, unable to see Tamaki's shocked-still expression. Alex felt a laugh bubble its way up her throat. "I lost my contacts on the first day of school-" She was cut off by Tamaki, who snapped his fingers and ordered,

"Hikaru, Kaoru!"

They ran over, stood up straight, and saluted, **"Yes, sir!?" ** They had scissors, a robe, and basic hair-cutting essentials.

"Kyoya, call the school's designated tailor." He already had a phone up to his ear. Tamaki pointed at Mori,

"Mori-Sempai! If you have any extra disposable contact lenses, share them!"

"What about Lexi-Chan and me, Tama-Chan?" Honey asked Tamaki, brown eyes wide.

"Honey-Sempai, Alex," Tamaki pointed at the two and paused for a moment to think before saying, "Alex, you go eat some cake with Honey-Sempai."

"B-But...Fine." SHe grumbled, walking off to eat at a table with Mitskuni.

"It's just you, me, and Usa-Chan, Lexi-Chan." Mitskuni mumbled sadly, a distressed aura surrounding him. Alex had nothing to say as she closed her eyes and resembled a Luck Star character as she pouted. "Everyone else is too busy..."

It wasn't long before Haruhi's makeover was done and she was getting changed. "Sempai..."

"What's the matter? Are you done changing?" Tamaki questioned from outside the changing room. Haruhi pushed aside the curtain to reveal a very, very, _very _cute boy-er, girl. Alex felt a slight twinge of jealousy and reached a hand up to trace the scar on her face that went from ear right ear down to the top of her chin. She could try to cover it up with makeup, but it would still leave a faint line. Not to mention the scars on her knees and shoulder..._Why are there so many things wrong with me? _She thought bitterly before shaking off the thoughts. "Your so pretty you could be a girl!"

**"Our finest project..." **Hikaru and Kaoru gushed, happy faces on their faces. _And now "Circle You" is stuck in my head...this sucks. Hehe... _

"Excuse me-is it really alright for me to keep this uniform?" Haruhi questioned, messing with the tie as she finished tying it.

"If we knew that was how you really looked," Hikaru began. Kaoru finished with a grin,

"We would've helped you out sooner!"

"Maybe you could get a few customers." Kyoya commented, pushing up his glasses with a slight smirk.

"You look so cute, Haru-Chan!" Mitskuni commented, smiling widely as he hugged Usa-Chan. Mori nodded,

"Yeah." Alex smiled at Haruhi and nodded her head,

"Y-Yeah, you look great." She closed her eyes and tilted her head, grinning from ear-to-ear. The Fake smile caught a few eyes and Alex shook her head, telling them it was nothing. The twins' frowned. She told Haruhi, "I think you'll meet your quota in no time!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Tamaki spoke up, smiling as he held up his index finger and thumb.

"Sure you were." Alex told him, rolling her eyes.

"Anyway, now is the time to show your true worth! GO show people your thin-veneer of beauty!"

...

Alex avoided Haruhi for the most part after that, only to scold herself for her selfishness and rudeness afterwards. She sighed from her spot in the corner, _She probably hates me now...Then again, I'd hate myself too. Oh, wait, I already do. Haha. _She froze when she heard Haruhi telling the story about how her mother passed away ten years ago and how she does all the chores. Alex felt her heart clench slightly at that. _How is mother? I hope she's doing okay...I hope she's happy... _She didn't even realize she was crying until she felt something cold and wet drop onto her hands. She blinked, feeling something wet fall down her cheeks, and looked down to see the small droplets splash against her skin. _  
_

Her shoulders began to shake, her lips trembling and her eyes squinting before the tears started to fall more quickly, a choked sob building its way up her throat. _No..No, no, no, no, no! Stop it-Stop it, _"Stop it...Stop it already, stop it! I-I don't...I don't..." A sob escaped her mouth and she attempted to bury herself deeper into her corner. "Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop-" Alex hadn't cried this bad since the time she thought her best friend was going to commit suicide after her boyfriend broke up with her. Casey already cut herself, and even though Alex got her to stop, the doubt still pricked away at her mind and made her think the worst, despite her telling her crying self that Casey was strong and wouldn't do it. Thankfully though, when Alex went to school on Monday, she found Casey safe and alive, and she hated herself for thinking what she thought.

"Why-Why do I continue to do this to myself?" Alex asked her self quietly, the tears still streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes stung and her shoulders shook, a cold chill going down her back. Alex dug her nails into her left arm, angered at herself, at the world, at Akira, at Haruhi, at Kyoya, at _everyone _and _everything_. Most specifically, _the people who conspired to send her here. _Alex bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, glad that no one had noticed her.

Alex always had that small feature about her. Back in Elementary, in her dimension, the teachers would always skip over her when they passed out the homework, and when they had a student do it, they always forgot to give her one. They always skipped over her on the student roster, and when they assigned new seats, Alex was always last because they forgot all about her, or they just didn't notice her. She was invisible to the naked eye.

She quickly raised her right arm sleeve and wiped furiously at her eyes, trying to get the tears to stop as she swallowed the huge lump in her throat. "Calm down...Calm down..." She inhaled deeply and exhaled.

"Alex," A voice called. Alex lifted her head and through her bangs she could make out a blurry Kyoya and a girl with dark hair. After her glasses broke, she never got contacts, so she was stuck with slightly bad vision, but not terrible vision. She could see _okay_, its just that reading from far away was hard. "Akira wishes for you to come over."

"C-Coming."

She arrived and Akira's first comment was a rude, "What's wrong with your eyes? Have you been sulking over the fact that the Hosts aren't paying attention to you or did you just go blind?"

"No, I was just blinded by your beauty." Alex deadpanned, before breaking out into a grin and fighting back a laughed. Akira looked furious, her face reddening. "No, seriously, you are very pretty." Akira looked less enraged and more confused and uncertain.

"Right..."

"Welp, bye."

"Wait-!" Alex was cut off by a grip on her left arm, pulling it beyond the limit. Alex's eyes widened greatly as pain flared through out her arm and shoulder, leading down to her chest. "I need to ask you something!" Alex squeezed her eyes shut at the excruciating pain.

_Let go, let go, let go, let go, let go, let go, let go- _She still didn't let go and the tears stung Alex's eyes again.

"Meet me after after class, right when everyone is going to lunch, by the lockers. Some of my friends," _Let go-o-o... _Alex's thoughts were practically _begging _by this point. "want to meet you-Connors?" She questioned, confused at the tears that were streaking down the brunette's face.

"Alex?" Even Kyoya looked slightly concerned. Alex turned her head, and with _pleading _eyes-eyes of an abused puppy, _begged_,

"-_please let go..." _She turned her head again as she squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. The pain was _excruciating _and it was taking everything in Alex's willpower not to scream. _"Please-!" _A small scream ripped out of Alex's throat and Akira released in surprise, Alex dropping to the ground on her knees and clutching at her left shoulder, tears streaming down her face as chocked sobs escaped her throat and made her shoulders tremble.

Akira's gray eyes were wide with shock and slight fear. _What _did she just _do_? What _did _she do? Akira backed up slowly and lifted up the hand that grabbed Alex's arm, looking at it with wide eyes. She looked back at Alex's crumbled form, which everyone was crowding around, and backed away, before running out of the third Music Room.

_"Are you okay!?"_

_"What happened?" _

_"Alex, are you hurt? What happened!?" _Voices swarmed around Alex and loaded into her mind-they pounded in her head like thunder, the smashing of a hammer-an angry Thor hitting Ironman's suit with his hammer.

_"Why is she crying?" _

_"What did that girl do to her?" _

_"The poor thing!" _

_"Back away! Back away!" _

_"What happened here!?" _Alex tried to stand, eyes still shut and pain still flaring through her body. Her mind felt numb, her legs like jello, She could barely process what was going on as she stumbled back and forth, swaying sideways as her side rammed straight into a table and causing even more pain to flare throughout her body.

_"AKARI!" _Alex barely registered that voice as she felt her head and body slam against something solid with intricate carvings-the door. She recognized the feeling and designs. The voices continued to swarm around her head and fuse together and Alex screamed,

_"STOP IIIIIIT!" _Everything went silent as Alex slammed the doors open with her body, using all of its mass and velocity. Her body collided into the ground in a crumpled heap as she sobbed loudly, her nails digging into her left arm through the uniform deeply. If you looked closely, you could see the red stains that started to form. _"Just make it stop..." _She cried, whimpering as the tears fell.

...

Alex awoke in the infirmary, the nurse gone, with bandages around her right arm and the blue blazer off. The white sleeves of the button-up shirt was rolled up to her shoulders, the blazer nowhere to be found.

Alex felt numb. She stared up at the ceiling of the infirmary for who knows how long before she finally could get her thoughts to process once again. Alex blinked and closed her eyes for a moments, before opening them and attempting to sit up. Her left arm refused to move and she had to use her right elbow to prop herself up, pressing her back against the bedframe. She looked around the room confused for a minute, not knowing where she was-before she remembered what happened.

"Right..." Her throat and mouth felt dry. She swallowed, and turned her head, finding a small cup of water resting on a small nightstand. She quickly reached over with her working arm and wrapped her fingers around the cup, bringing it to her mouth, and gulping it down quickly. "Ah! That feels so much better..." She mumbled to herself, placing the cup back down. "I feel as though I'm forgetting something...What time is it?" She looked around the room, only to realize that she _wasn't _in the infirmary, and that she was back in the Hitachiin brothers' mansion.

The walls were a regal purple, the floor brown and wooden-polished. Along the walls were a few paintings and by the window on the far end of the left-side of the room, was a small _Avengers _clock. Alex squinted her eyes and made out the time-her eyes widened. "_Ten Twenty-five!? I'M LATE FOR SCHOOL!"_

Of course, by that declaration-a maid worked her way into the room, bowing and greeting, "Good morning, Lady Alexandria." Alex looked at the young woman alarmed,

"H-How do you know my full name and please don't call me Lady. I'm not a lady."

"As you wish, Miss Alexandria."

"Alex is fine and I need to get to school-!" Alex rolled off the bed and landed on the ground with a grunt, standing up and shaking her head, heading towards the bathroom at a fast pace.

"Please leave that to me, Miss Alex," The maid told her, gray eyes glittering in slight amusement. "I have been entrusted to be your personal maid by the Young Masters."

"This is...awkward-whoa!" Alex had no choice but to comply when she was forced into the bathtub, stark naked.

...

"Sorry I'm late!" Alex blurted, rushing into the classroom and disrupting said class. Her arm hung at her side, wrapped in bandages. The sleeves were rolled up to her elbow, for all to see. "I don't know what happened-no one woke me up, I'm so sorry!" She bowed, nervous.

"It's fine, the Hitachiin brothers' told me of your condition." The female teacher replied, pushing up her glasses. "Just go and take your seat."

"Y-Yeah, yes!" She hurried in her attempt to sit down and tripped, nearly face-planting if she didn't catch herself in time.

"And open your textbook to page 243."

"Working on it!" Alex sat down, grabbed her math book and flipped furiously through the pages, before turning back some and hitting the page. "Got it!"

"You don't need to declare it to the class," The teacher told her with an annoyed look on her face. Alex flinched,

"Sorry!"

...

"Alex-!" Akira called after class had ended, everyone all heading to lunch. Alex paused in her walking with Hikaru and Kaoru and looked back hesitantly, before turning her head back to the twins' who looked at her impatiently.

"Um, I-I'll catch up, you go ahead." They looked at her with raised eyebrows, obviously disbelieving. "What? Since when did I lie to you?" She asked incredulously, placing a hand on her hip as she raised an eyebrow. They blinked and shrugged,

**"Fine, but your ordering your own food." **

"Yeah, yeah!" Alex waved them off, laughing slightly, before she walked over to Akira and three of her friends-She recognized one. Ayanokoji. "Okay, so what's up?"

"Well," One of the girls-she had brown hair and eyes, light skin- began. "we wanted to talk to you out in the hallway."

"O-Okay?" Alex responded in confusion, walking out of the classroom-looking behind her every now and then as they trailed behind her. _Are they up to something? And what's with Akira? She looks...guilty or upset about something. Huh, weird. _They stopped by a row a lockers, which was located next to the Janitor's closet. Alex's suspicious rose, but she played dumb as she turned to look at them. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Alex blinked when she saw only three girls and made to turn her head around, "Where's the one-!" Alex didn't have time to blink before her head was roughly banged against the lockers-creating only darkness. Alex's body went limp and the girl who knocked her out grunted as her weight fell on her.

"She shouldn't have left her guard down," Ayanokoji commented, smirking. "Perhaps this will make her leave Ouran-_for good_."

Akira hesitated-after the incident yesterday with Alex's arm, Akira didn't feel right. "M-Maybe we shouldn't do this," She spoke up hesitantly, "I mean, we're bullying-"

"Akira Takano, what are you talking about?" Ayanokoji demanded, turning her fierce brown gaze to her. "This isn't _bullying_, we are merely "persuading" this Commoner."

"Yeah, Akira." The girl with brown hair and eyes added, nodding. "It's perfectly fine. We're not doing any harm."

"We're merely providing a reason for this filth to leave the Academy." The girl who knocked out Alex said, opening one of the lockers and pulling out some rope and a pink bandanna. She pushed Alex against the lockers and quickly tied her arms to her body and bound her wrists together. She then took the pink bandanna and tied it around her head, gagging her. She stood up, propping Alex up against the lockers, and smirked, moving her hands together as though wiping away dirt. "I may be in Class B, but I _am _the daughter of a famous military General. I _do _know how to shut people up." She snickered. "Now, hurry up and open the closet, Noi-Chan."

Noi did so and the military girl shoved the unconscious girl into the closet, next to a mop and bucket. Akira swallowed nervously and looked at the poor girl-She didn't deserve this. Akira felt sweat bead down her face as Ayanokoji commented with a small smirk,

"How fitting. Commoner filth belongs with Commoner trash." She chuckled and closed the closet, locking it. "Now, let's head to lunch before anyone at the table notices anything."

The main three bullies left, Akira dragging behind them uncertainly. _Was this really the right thing? That girl doesn't deserve this-but, Kyoya... _Akira was filled with conflicting emotions.

...In the lunch room, at the Hitachiin twins' table...

"Kyoya!" Tamaki whined, once again not getting his way, "Why not!? I think we should do a Tropical Paradise for tomorrow!"

"And I say that we do not have the funds." Kyoya replied with an irritated sigh, writing something down in his book. "Perhaps in a month or so, we can. With Alex's absence, we have been losing customers and profit." With that, Tamaki frowned and shut up, trying to think up of another argument.

Hikaru and Kaoru placed their trays down-Kaoru sitting next to Kyoya and Hikaru sitting next to Tamaki. Kyoya barely cast them a glance, writing something down-only to pause and blinked, looking up at the twins'. Something was wrong.

"That idiot..." Hikaru muttered, frowning deeply, as he stirred his chocolate pudding with his spoon-playing with it. He stopped playing and grabbed a spoonful, taking a bite irritably.

"Does she actually trust those girls'?" Kaoru mumbled, looking up in thought.

Kyoya spoke up, "Did Alex come to school today?"

"Yeah," Hikaru replied, not looking at him. "Even though when we left her at the house without waking her or setting her clock-you kinda figured she'd get the message to stay home."

"Who knows how she thinks?" Kaoru questioned his brother with a raised eyebrow, "We've known her for weeks and she still manages to confuse us."

"She annoying one moment," Hikaru listed off. "and then completely childish, and then acting like a cute, embarrassed girl the next! And _then _she acts like she's about to cry and acts tough! It's freaking _annoying!" _He snapped, his grip on his drink tightening. "And then she goes and walks off with those girls even though she can tell that they're trouble! Just who does she think she is!?"

"Calm down, Hikaru." Kaoru told his brother, frowning. What was up with his brother?

"Alex should've been here by now!" Hikaru fired back, looking at his brother with slight worry. "She said she'd catch up and she hasn't yet!"

"Maybe my darling daughter is doing some girly things with her girl friends!" Tamaki suggested brightly, going into dreamland.

_Alex and nameless girls one, two, and three giggled as they talked about boys, make up, and clothes. One of the girls' gave Alex a magazine about girly stuff and they laughed about girly stuff. _

"My daughter's becoming a lady!" Tamaki gushed, "Hear that Kyoya!?" He asked, leaning over towards the boy who pushed up his glasses, eyes hidden behind the spectacles.

Kyoya watched as four girls' entered the lunchroom, unnoticed by all except him. The first three, Ayanokoji, Noi, and Miharu, seemed to be triumphant about something and smirked, chuckling and laughing to themselves. The last girl, Akira, seemed to be nervous and guilty about something. Kyoya frowned and waited for Alex to walk in-and after seeing the girls' all sit down, he was convinced something happened. He sighed and pushed up his glasses again, _Really, that girl is more trouble than she's worth. Her naivety is what's going to be her downfall. _

But Kyoya was wrong. Alex wasn't naive. She knew something was up and still, "Treat the people the way you want to be treated" went with them despite the fact that her gut told her not too. He sighed and pushed the chair out from the table, standing.

**"Kyoya-Sempai?" **Hikaru and Kaoru questioned in confusion, Tamaki looking up in surprise,

"Uh-Kyoya? What's wrong?"

"I'm going to use the restroom." He told them, lying easily. His glasses hid his eyes, which held his true intent.

...

Alex's head hurt-a _lot_. She groaned as she entered consciousness, opening her eyes to find herself in total darkness. She found herself lying against cold stone and resisted the urge to sneeze-it was dusty. She-She couldn't move her arms. _What the hell? What happened-Oh, yeah...That girl smashed my head against the lockers. _She grunted as she tried to sit up, rocking back and forth a few times, before lunging upwards with all her strength and swaying for a moment. She managed to upright herself and looked around, blinking a few times to get her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

Alex struggled with the ropes for a few moments, panicking slightly when she couldn't get them to let go. Her wrists hurt from the tightly tied rope and her fingers hurt from twisting in multiple directions in an attempt to untie the rope at her wrists. She let out an irritated (Muffled) scream and, though she stumbled a bit and swayed, stood. Everything except her legs were tied up. _Big mistake_, Alex thought and stumbled around a bit before she found the door. With another loud, muffled scream, she thrust her body against the door and immediately remembered the Musical episode of _Psyche_ where Shawn and Gus were trying to break open the door to that one girl's house. _Okay, not the time Alex! Break open door and find someone to untie you! Yeah, good plan...but what if I can't get the door open and nobody finds me? I think there might be spiders...and beetles. And cockroaches-okay! Enough! _Alex already had the tears sting her eyes as she slammed herself against the door again-using her right shoulder and arm-only to curse colorfully. (still muffled)

Alex tried again, pain flaring throughout her body, only to end up throwing herself back on the cold ground and land on something. She screamed into her gag again as she rolled off of it, twisting her wrist painfully in an attempt to get rid of the rope bonds.

"Wammff..." Alex spoke in realization, pausing as a tear streamed down her face. "Iff thewa wifeoh womfin?" Thinking back to all the movies she watched and the stories and fanfics she read, she went through the scenes that had situations similar to hers-and believe it or not, those scenes were _really _common.

She groped around the room trying to find a sharp object, and the closest thing that she found to a sharp object was something that felt similar to a wrench. Then again, she didn't try the box-like thing, not that she could really. She about gave up when she felt something cut her finger. She let out a small gasp and lurched forward, only to realize- _Sharp, pointy-thingy, yes! _She scooted backwards, carefully, and put the rope around her wrists against the sharp, pointy object and started to sway and waver back and forth, trying to cut it.

...

Kyoya was just at the door of the lunchroom when a voice called out to him,

"Wait! I-I need to tell you something!" Kyoya felt his eyebrow twitch slightly in irritation-He was _not _in the mood to hear some girl's love confession, nor was it a good time. Kyoya ignored them, pressing a hand against the door, pushing it forward, when a hand grabbed his sleeve. "It's about Alex!" The girl blurted and Kyoya tensed. He turned his head to look at the girl, whose gray eyes were filled with guilt and regret, "I know where she is and what happened to her!"

...

Alex cheered slightly once her wrists were free- albeit they had red rings around them now, but, uh-oh, well. Now she just had the rope preventing her from using her arms to deal with. Alex struggled a bit-only to have them fall off completely. She blinked, _Huh...Well, that was...easy. Oh! It was because the rope tied around my wrists were apart of the rope against my arms and screw this I can take the gag off. _Alex shook her head and pulled the gag off. She inhaled and exhaled, stretching slight with a yawn, "I feel _sooo _much better now!"

She then proceeded to pound against the door and shout. In what felt like forever and receiving no reply, was actually two minutes. Alex slunk to the ground on her knees and leaned against the door, shoulders shaking by this point. She pounded her fist weakly against the door one more time, tears streaming down her face-"Somebody...please...open?" Her shoulders shook slightly as she held back a sob. "Damn it all..." She cursed violently, letting out a huge rainbow. _This never happened back in-back home... I want out...Somebody-Somebody please, open the door... _"Open the do-or already! Argh!" She let out a strangled cry as she slapped the door, only to retreat her hand in pain.

The small girl curled up in a ball physically exhausted, mentally tired, her soul tortured.

She died. She was ripped away from everything she loved and cared and knew about-her _home_, her _family_, _her loved ones_, everything and anything that was familiar and she knew. Thrust into a new world she knows everything and yet nothing about, hardly able to use her left arm, forced to live with "strangers" and told that she was someone else? Having hers and someone else's memories, someone else living in her place while she lived in someone else's... And now this...

_This-This was supposed to be a comedy...Now I sound like Louis. _Alex felt a small, bitter grin form its way onto her face, "All the wh-whining Louis! Whine, wh-whine, whine! That's all you ever do!" She chuckled to herself, _Hikaru, Kaoru, hell, even Kyoya would be good at this point...Someone just please find me...Liam... _

It felt like ages, the tears staining her cheeks, her throat sore and dry, most of her hope was gone, until she hear the pit-pattering of footsteps and the unlocking of a door.

Alex felt the door she was leaning against move and she jumped, startled and alarmed as she moved backwards. The door opened and light filtered into the closet, burning Alex's teary eyes. She groaned and cried out in protest, despite the fact that she was actually relieved that someone had found her.

Her eyes adjusted and Alex removed her hand, finding a pair of black shoes and black pants in her vision. She blinked and swallowed the lump in her throat, lifting her gaze up to see a guilty Akira standing next to a shocked, and slightly surprised Kyoya.

"K-Kyoya...?" She accidentally left off the honorific- originally American and in disbelief and shock, "I'm-I'm not...h-hallucinating, right? Y-You're..." The tears gathered up in her eyes before she could blink and where already streaming down her cheeks as she stood, before charging towards the dark-haired man and wrapping her arms around his waist tightly, burying her face into his uniform shirt. Alex was_ scared_. She was _not _someone who could handle all the stress-Alex was only fifteen and way too many things have been happening to her.

Kyoya's eyes widened just a fraction, unsure of how to react. Comforting people was _Tamaki's _forte, not his. Kyoya was silent for a moment, his glasses hiding his eyes and facial expression blank, before awkwardly patting her on the head. Kyoya briefly wondered again why he was wasting his time with this, before remembering. He held back a sigh and muttered, feeling like a complete idiot, "There, there..."

Sometimes, in moments like these, Kyoya really envied Tamaki.

Alex, suddenly remembering _who _exactly it was that she was hugging and soaking his uniform with her _tears _retracted, eyes wide and face a bright red, embarrassed and feeling incredibly foolish, "I'm sorry! I-I-I'm so sorry!" She clamped her hands over her mouth, brown eyes wide. Kyoya looked down at her, slightly surprised at the change of attitude. One minute she was crying and holding on to him for dear life, and now she was apologizing as though she had done something unforgivable, "I-I didn't mean-It was-Oh, my god, I'm so sorry! Please don't kill me!" She flinched and the sleeves of the uniform pushed upwards slightly, Kyoya's eyes catching sight of the red rings around her wrists.

His face hardened, eyes narrowing slightly. Alex couldn't even blink before Kyoya was gripping her hands tightly and pushing up the sleeves of her uniform.

"K-Kyoya!?" She asked in surprise, eyes wide with surprise and confusion, then quickly added, "Er-Sempai."

The only word she could describe him with right now was "angry" even though it didn't really show on his face... Other than the slight from and the narrow eyes, not to mention the menacing aura-you couldn't really tell. He stared at the rope burns intently for a few moments before releasing her, ordering, "What happened?"

"Huh?" Alex blinked. What happened when? Or was it where? "Uh, English please?" He stared at her oddly for a second before saying,

"What happened to your wrists."

"Oh!" She declared and smacked herself in the forehead with her right hand in a very "Eleventh regeneration" fashion. "Oh! Der, right, of course! Um, I twisted my wrist trying to get the rope off and I ended up cutting myself on the sharp, pointy thingy. See?" She held up her bleeding finger to him, showing him her small cut. "Hurt a bit, but it's just kinda numb now...thought I was gonna be stuck in there forever!" She laughed slightly, trying to lighten the mood. She frowned, realizing that he didn't find it funny, and continued, "Um, ah, anyway..." She dragged it on slightly, "Uh-thanks, for, you know, getting me out..."

Kyoya's menacing aura was still present, but it seemed to lessen just a smidge. He sighed irritably, "Whatever, let's just get back to the cafeteria."

"Oh, um right!" Alex said dumbly, not knowing what else to do. She started to follow after Kyoya, but was stopped by Akira, who cut in front of her with a guilty look on her face.

"L-Look, I'm sorry, okay? I-I don't know why, but I-"

"It's fine." Alex cut in, smiling at the girl. Akira looked up in surprise and confusion,

"What? Seriously, just like that?"

"Um, yeah, it's fine. I'm not dead or mortally wounded, right?"

"N-No..."

"Then, there you go!" Alex gave her a peace sign, grinning widely, "Peace out, yo!" She giggled to herself before gasping and running to catch up with Kyoya, "H-Hey, wait up!"

...

**"Alex! You're okay!" **Alex let out a loud shout when she was tackled in a hug by Hikaru and Kaoru, who had tears streaming comically down their faces. **"We were so worried when you didn't come back!" **

"I-I love you guys too!" Alex gasped, running out of air. "H-Hey! Let go!"

**"Never!" **

"I'm not ever going too let you out of my sight," Hikaru began defiantly as he rubbed his face against hers, Kaoru doing the same.

"ever again for as long as I live!"

"Hey, Kyoya," Tamaki began curiously as he watched his best friend sit down. "What happened to Alex in the first place? You seem...angered at something."

Kyoya's glasses hid his eyes as he replied, "Nothing insignificant, you can be sure of. I'll fill you in on the details later, just finish your parfait."

"Kyoya-" Tamaki cut himself off when he saw that his friend clearly wasn't in the mood to talk anymore. "Nevermind then...Hey, you shady twins, release my daughter!"

"Help me, Daddy!" Alex "begged" crying out for help. "Mommy, Daddy, big brothers are being so mean to me~!"

Kyoya's aura seemed to darken as he gave her and the twins' a shit-eating smile, eyes hidden behind glasses, "Release her." The twins released the girl, tears streaming out of their eyes comically from fear.

**"What the hell is wrong with him today?" **The twins asked Tamaki, huddling close to him, frightened deeply. Alex questioned, a tick mark forming on her face,

"Can I just eat my lunch in peace? We have like, ten minute left and I'm starving!"

...

Music Room #3- 3:25 P.M.

**"Let's play the "Which one is Hikaru Game!" **The brothers ran their hands through their hair-causing it to spike up, and grinned identically after running around in circles.

"What a lame game," Haruhi deadpanned, while Alex blinked.

"It at least gives you something to do...right?"

A girl spoke up, uncertain, "I don't know, you two look exactly alike." Alex spoke, rolling her eyes sarcastically,

"No, not at _all_. They don't have the same faces or _anything_. I mean, they're totally not identical in looks." But their personalities on the other hand... Alex sighed,

"I'll get some more tea..." Alex mumbled incoherently, picking up the tea tray. She stood up straight, stepping over the guests' feet as she tried to worm her way out from between the guests' and Haruhi, only to shout as she ended up tripping over Kurakano's feet. They both gasped and Alex let out a shout as she and the tea tray fell to their impeding doom-at least, they would have fallen to their impending doom if someone hadn't caught Alex by the collar of her shirt. She gasped at the choking feeling, but quickly backed up and regained her balance. "Th-That was close..." She breathed heavily, eyes wide. She looked at the person who caught her. It was either Hikaru or Kaoru, but this twin had the "Kind" eyes so... "Thanks...Kaoru? Right, you're Kaoru?"

His eyes widened slightly in response and said nothing, slowly releasing the girl.

"I'll take that as a..."Maybe." Haruhi nodded,

"Yes, that's Kaoru. Hikaru is the one standing next to Miharu."

"I-It's fine," Kaoru stuttered, slightly surprised at being told apart correctly. "No problem." He backed up to where he was standing next to his brother.

"You got it wrong~!" Hikaru told her, grinning. Haruhi smirked,

"No, Alex and I are right. You two may act and look alike, but you both are actually very different." Alex grinned, place the tea tray down, and ran over to Haruhi, laughing and wrapping her arms around her neck,

"Haruhi's right! Hikaru's rather rude and not good with people, but he can be rather nice. He's a Tsundere, if I have to label him." Alex said, the last part thoughtfully. "And Kaoru, well-her's more calm 'n stuff and really nice-He has the same eyeshape as Edward Elric-kind of. They both have "Kind" eyes, if you get what I mean-oh! And Kaoru's cheek bones are more defined that Hikaru's, while Hikaru's are more sharp than Kaoru's. He also has a small bump in the nose-which is almost impossible to see unless you're looking at him when he has his head turned to the left. He also has a stubborn chin and...Well, that's all I could see, so far." Alex pays attention to detail-being an artist and writer herself, and observes people even when she's talking to them.

"Wow!" A girl exclaimed, while the others gasped. "You really know all that?"

"I observe people, as creepy as it sounds." Alex laughed and Haruhi muttered for Alex to get off. "I-I write and draw a lot, so, uh-yeah." She released Haruhi and scratched her left arm nervously. "It-It's a habit. Maybe a bad one? I-I don't really know..." And it kind of helps that since she's from another dimension she knows their personalities from a TV show and a manga book? But, there's always more than what meets the eyes when you actually end up _meeting _said nonexistant people. Not everything is shown in a few stories. "Anyway..." She blinked at the looks the girls' were giving her and Haruhi. "What-What did I do?"

"You both are wonderful!" Miharu gushed, eyes wide with stars. Kurakano smiled brightly at them,

"You both must be looking at them with the eyes in your hearts!"

"Sure?" Alex blinked when Haruhi made to grab a cup of tea-pausing when she found it empty. Haruhi's finger had a band-aid on it, "What happened to your finger?" She asked, rather bluntly. Haruhi looked up at her in surprise, the other girls' gasping and asking what happened worriedly.

"Huh, oh, I was using a knife and cut myself on accident." Alex frowned-she could tell that was a lie. She used the same excuse once-difference was, she said she was doing the dishes and cut herself. Truth is, a girl got mad at her once and attacked her with her nails. She wasn't very friendly.

... Three days later, Music Room #3- 3:12...

Alex blinked and looked up, looking around the room and realizing someone wasn't there...

"Alex-Chan, what's wrong?" Akiko questioned worriedly, seeing her friend's alarmed look. Akira blinked and frowned, legs crossed.

"Did you forget something?" Alex looked at them in surprise and gave them a small, nervous smile as she lied easily,

"Uh-Yeah, actually...Um, is it okay if I-"

"It's fine," Akiko cut her off. Alex smiled widely and stood, exclaiming gratefully,

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you-I'll be right back, promise!" Alex quickly made her way to the doors, only to be cut off by Kyoya, who spoke with an accusatory tone,

"Just where do you think _you're_ going?" Alex looked back at him and said quickly,

"I forgot something and I need to go get it-I'll be right back! Kay?"

"Don't-" Alex didn't hear him as she closed the doors behind her, "do anything rash..." Kyoya sighed and closed his book, "That moron..."

One of his guests' looked at him in confusion and question, "Kyoya-Sempai, is something wrong?" He gave them a shit-eating grin quickly.

"No, not at all, just thinking about how very few of our magazines have been bought lately..."

"I'll buy one!"

"I'll buy one too!"

"I'll three!" He smiled,

"How very generous of you all..." He calmly told him, "That will be 1000 yen each-Oh, dear...I seem to have forgotten my accounting book, will it be alright with you ladies if I left to retrieve it?" The girls' quickly gained hearts in their eyes as they nodded,

"Yes, yes! It's perfectly fine, Kyoya!"

"Absolutely, Kyoya-Sempai! If you must!" He gave them another shit-eating grin and said as he stood, bowing apologetically,

"Thank you, sweet ladies, you truly have very kind hearts." They squealed loudly and watched him as he left through the door.

Alex arrived just in time to see Ayanokoji approach Haruhi. Alex froze for a brief second before hiding behind the corner, closing her eyes and listening intently,

"Why, aren't you that Commoner?" She questioned, faking surprise. "Thanks to Tamaki-Sama, you look a lot nicer now-You actually look like one of our students. But, you forget; He is a Blueblood and you are a Commoner. You must love it when he starts to dote on you like that-but it's completely useless. Why don't you fix the faults in your upbringing first and then try? But, then again, its always going to be useless..." Alex opened her eyes once she heard the footsteps heading her way and watched as Ayanokoji turned the corner she was hiding at.

_And here's the doubtful, uncertain feeling of if I should approach her or not...Well, I already got into trouble before, so why not do it again? _Alex sighed, _Haruhi, you're lucky I'm loyal, _"Hey, what's up!?" Alex asked Ayanokoji excitedly, giving her a peace sign and a grin. Ayanokoji froze in her steps at turned her head to look at Alex with wide eyes.

"You-" She cut herself off and forced herself to relax, giving Alex a fake smile and saying, "Hello...You must be that other Commoner, Alex..." Clearly she was acting like she didn't help knock out Alex and locker in a closet _at all_.

"Oh, shove off with the act already- first you have what's-her-face knock me out and lock me in a closet, and now you're being cruel to Haruhi? How much of a jerk are you?" Alex paused a few times in her ranting, not good with confrontations or lectures. She didn't know how this would turn out. Ayanokoji's eyes narrowed and turned cold, the brown almost looking black. "Seriously, what's your problem?"

"Problem?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "I do not have a problem; if anyone has a problem, its you. You hang around a group of _beautiful _men, despite being such an _ugly _girl." Alex knew she wasn't very pretty, but it still hurt when other people pointed it out. Alex remained pokerface, acting like it didn't affect her. Alex rolled her eyes,

"Your point? I may not be pretty, but at least I don't go locking people in janitor closets and sticking pin needles in peoples uniforms! Nor do I go and place a blade in Haruhi's textbook, and neither do I go and throw her bag and books and her wallet into the school pond!" Alex pointed out the window, angered, at the soaking items in the pond that Haruhi and Tamaki were rummaging through. "I don't go and act like a jealous _bitch _just because some guy decides to spend time with someone else! You could at least be a bit understanding, I mean _seriously _woman-!" Ayanokoji cut her off, glaring,

"I don't need a lecture from a filthy commoner!" Alex felt her eyes widen and she grinned madly, her eyes showing _just _how angry she was.

"Oh-_Oh_! You _think _so!?" Alex stormed up to Ayanokoji, lifting up her index finger and pointing at her, "You think that just because I'm commoner that you-that you're _higher _than me!? That you're _better _than me!? Whether you're rich or poor, has nothing to do with status! Status is what is means when you're a bad person, a good person-Oh wait, never mind. There's no such thing as a good or bad person! It's only with the decisions you make that make your status!" Alex smiled at her, narrowing her eyes as her bangs fell into her face, just below her eyes-"You wanna know what I think your status is?"

Ayanokoji looked down at the finger Alex was pointing in her face, a snarl forming on her lips, "It does not matter what _you _think; I'm still better than you in every way. I'm smart, beautiful, rich, everything that an ugly, filthy, _useless_ Commoner like you are not. My status will _always _be higher than yours."

Alex blinked at that and hesitated for a moment, before smiling and poking Ayanokoji in the forehead, giggling, "Aw, you're so _cute_! Look at the wittle Pwincess Ayanokoji!" She spoke in a baby-voice, clearly mocking the girl. "So bwave and tawented, stwong and beau'iful! She must be everything!" All the while Alex was making gestures with her hands. She raised her right hand over her mouth, gasping, "Oh! My bad..." She gave her a sour look, "You're not. Looks aren't everything. You may be a pretty face, but you're burned to a crisp on the inside. Nothing pretty about you. A blackened heart." Ayanokoji was fuming now and Alex was surprised she hadn't tried to strike her yet. Alex was pretty much _insulting _her to the highest level. She quickly listed off, "Greed, Lust, Envy, Pride, Wrath, Gluttony, and..." Wasn't there another. "Sloth!" She cried out, clapping her hands together and snapping her fingers, "There we go! That's the one!" She whirled around and pointed at Ayanokoji, grinning widely, "You my dear, have Envy-You're green as Ivy! And possibly Greed...I know I have that-" She laughed before going serious again, "You are a pretty face, but on the inside, you rotted and turned green...Like a rose. It's beautiful for a while...but then it starts to wilt-!"

Pain flared in Alex cheek and felt something warm dribble onto her chin. Alex lifted a hand up to her cheek, scratch marks from nails visible on her left cheek. Blood trickled down her face and onto her chin, dripping onto her hand. The pain numbed down a bit and tingled. Alex made a smile grow on her face and looked at Ayanokoji, who raised her hand to claw her again,

"That tickled." Alex's response to all pain-if it was minor. A few bleeding scratches? How minor could that get? That drove Ayanokoji to the edge and Alex flinched when her hand flew towards her face again. _I deserve that one-But then again, she hurt Haruhi. _

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that if you're going to mercilessly bully two of our precious host members, I'm going to have to ask you to not enter the Host Club ever again." Alex's eyes shot open with shock and surprise at the new voice.

"Kyoya!?" He had a brilliant shit-eating smile on, and she knew that the brighter the smile, the worse he became. He was like Sebastian from _Black Butler_, the brighter the smile, the more torment the character was going to face. Ironically, they had the same voice actor... Hehe. "What are you doing here?"

"I came for my accounting book," He replied, lifting up a small black book that was tucked against his side.

"I-I-" Ayanokoji stumbled over her words, face paling tremendously at being caught, "It's not what it looks like, I swear!" She blurted, "Alex came at me and was insulting me and-It was self-defense!"

He smiled at her, "Then what do you call this?" He held up pictures that had proof of Ayanokoji's bullying. "I had Hikaru and Kaoru take them for me-they are ever so helpful."

"What?" A new voice interrupted. Everyone's head turned to look at Tamaki and Haruhi, who was holding up a soaked bag. "Kyoya, you knew about this?"

He smiled, glasses flashing, "Of course. Alex's guest, Akira, is ever so informant. She even told me about who locked Alex in that closet-Ayanokoji was involved in that little incident."

Tamaki sighed and Alex was still having trouble processing what was happening, "I guess you're right...That leaves only one thing to do..." He walked up to Ayanokoji-Kyoya had released her wrist- and gripped her chin gently.

"It-It wasn't it appears, I swear Tamaki-Sama! Alex and that commoner, Haruhi, attacked me! They were bullying me and insulting me and-and I was trying to teach them not too bully others and-"

"You are a beautiful girl, Ayanokoji," Tamaki told her seriously, frowning as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "But I do know one thing, and that Haruhi and Alex are _not _those kind of people."

Alex felt slightly flattered at that, but felt like something was _seriously _wrong with this situation... _I feel like I screwed up something big time...This happened in the Club room, not a hallway...Ayanokoji either splashed tea at Haruhi and made a break for it, or Hikaru and Kaoru dumped tea on them after She grabbed Haruhi's tie and pulled her over the table, to make it look like she jumped her...Oh, SHIT! Haruhi isn't wet! Tamaki won't find out she's a girl-Damn it, damn it, damn it!_

"Looks aren't everything, and I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ban you from the Host Club."

Ayanokoji's eyes widened. "Wh-What, Tamaki...You...IDIOT!" She pushed him away from her, making a break for it down the hallway.

Tamaki sighed, "Well, now that this is over..." He turned around to point at Haruhi dramatically, declaring, "Your quota is now one thousand!"

Haruhi froze and turned to stone, "Wh-What?" He smiled at her,

"Well, it is your fault after all. Now, come on, back to the club we go!" He grabbed Haruhi's wrist and started to drag her back.

_Great, now I have to do something to get Haruhi's clothes wet...Water or tea? Hm...I don't want to waste tea...It's so sad. _Uncle Iroh! Hahahahaha...Ugh.

"Yup, I'm screwed. I just ruined this entirely plot." Kyoya raised an eyebrow at her,

"And why do you say that?"

"Because I did." Alex shook her head and flinched, pain flaring through her cheek and she barely had time to blink before she was suddenly gripped by the shoulders by a panicked Tamaki, who was shaking her back and forth with tears in his eyes,

"ALEX! KYOYA-CALL AN AMBULANCE, ALEX IS DYING! SHE'S BLEEDING-THERE ARE BLOOD ALL OVER HER CLOTHES! _AAHHHHHHHH!_!" Kyoya shut him up with a punch to the back of the head,

"Don't be a moron, Moron. She's fine, just needs first-aid. She isn't dying." Alex screamed when Tamaki started to drag her back to the club room-only to pause when he saw a wallet on the ground. He lifted it up and froze, eyes wide when he saw who it belonged too. Alex blinked and moved in front of him, looking at his upside-down. It had a girl with long, dark brown hair and bangs, big, wide chocolate eyes. _AKOIJUF IHURAH. _The thing that told the gender was circled under "Female". _  
_

Alex let out a breathe she didn't know she was holding, "Oh thank god..."

"Haruhi's..." He ran into the club room, charging towards Haruhi and demanding, "Haruhi...Are you a girl?"

She barely blinked at him as she replied easily, "Biologically, yeah..." He froze, nearly dropping the wallet, "Oh! There it is...I must've dropped on our way back..." She took it from him and placed it in her pocket, "Thanks, Sempai, don't know what I would've done for food money this week without it...Ah, by the way, that picture was taken when I was in ninth grade, by the way." She looked up, realizing how shocked he looked, "Oh, I'm sorry-Did I surprise you?"

Hikaru, Kaoru, Mori, Honey, Kyoya, and Alex all walked up. "I knew it before I even saw her!" Alex spoke up with a grin.

"He's finally noticed..." Hikaru commented, "He really is an idiot."

"But he probably knew by instinct; No one would do such much for a guy," Kaoru told his brother, nodding his head.

"..." Mori was silent, but he, too, figured it out along the way. Honey grinned,

"I knew from the beginning!" Alex raised an index finger,

"Only after she commented on how cute Usa-Chan was." Honey giggled at that.

"It's a pretty interesting development," Kyoya admitted, grinning. "Ah, about that scratch..." Everyone blinked and turned to look at Alex, who he was addressing. Alex looked up at him and pressed a hand to her cheek, wiping the blood away.

"It's fine, its gonna stop bleeding soon anyway."

**"Don't be so careless!" **Hikaru and Kaoru growled at her, frowning deeply, "**You already have one scar, you don't need four more!" **

Alex shrugged, "I already have a rope burn on my wrist, two scars on my left knee, another from a rock on my right knee, a scar on my left lower leg from a berry bush, three scars on my left from when October scratched me on Halloween just from when I tried to open my door that she was lying in front of her-I didn't need fake blood then!" She laughed at her joke. She hadn't even put the fake blood on yet when it happened. Nobody was amused, in fact, they seemed even more worried, "Oh, and there's this scar," She traced the one on her chin, "and my useless arm that I can barely move, I also have this weird shaped scar on my hip...Oh! And there's that one on my shoulder from that bullet and the surgery-thing and..." She paused in thought, "Oh! There's also one right here on my hand from a band stand hat I got in Elementary during a Christmas Program," She showed it to them. It was on her left hand and in between her index finger and thumb, "And there's one in a similar place that traces my thumb that I got from Majin when she was playing with my hand, and one from October on my arm that you can't really see since its faded when I was running the bathroom."

"You lead," Hikaru began, frowning deeply. Kaoru continued, raising an eyebrow,

"A very carefree life..."

"What happened to your knees, Lexi-Chan?" Alex shrugged,

"Bike crash. The chain popped as I was going down the hill and I nearly crashed into the rich neighbors yard. Hit a ditch, flipped, and according to my cousin, did a weird dance move thing as I tried to avoid the handle bars. Don't know 'bout you, but I didn't want one protruding through my stomach." She laughed. "Anyway, back to Haruhi, who probably feels ignored." Haruhi blinked and shrugged, not really caring if anyone was paying her attention or not.

"You guys can continue if you want, I don't really care...But if you guys' thought I was a guy, then there' no helping it. It's fine with me; My consciousness of being a girl or boy is probably lower than most peoples; It's probably my dad's influence. And I'm not really interested in appearances either...It's on the inside that counts, right? Oh, and Sempai," She turned to Tamaki with a cute smile, "You were pretty cool back then, earlier."

His face turned tomato red, placing a hand over his mouth.

Kyoya smirked and Alex quote along with him, grinning like a madman, **"Now, I may be wrong, but I think we're witnessing the beginnings of love." **

Kyoya gave her a strange look and she grinned, hugging herself as she squealed, "I always wanted to say that!"

"You're a moron..." Kyoya sighed. He could already feel his brain cells start to slip away-but, nonetheless, he hit Alex's head gently with a fist. She grinned at him,

"I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid. And what was that for?" He pulled his fist away and said, not looking at her, but at the commotion Haruhi and Tamaki were making.

"You're more trouble than you're worth."

"Aw, thank you, you're so kind!" She replied with a sarcastic smile on her face. "Anyway, next chapter, Christmas Party!" Everyone gave her odd looks at that.

"How about,"

"We go home,"

**"and fix that look of yours, first?" **

"No!"


	7. Life before Dance

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila. **

**December 12-three months later. **

"I feel ridiculous-Couldn't I have worn pants or something?" Alex asked Tamaki, looking up at him with confused eyes. She was made to wear a Bali "Princess" dress, as Tamaki was her "Father" and said that she should be dressed as a "Lady". To be honest, since she wasn't wearing shorts or leggings underneath the dress, she felt kind of naked. "I feel naked in this thing." The dress was long and stopped at her ankles, but it was still uncomfortable.

"You look like a real girl!" Tamaki gushed, eyes sparkling as he clamped his hands together, "Mommy! Look at how cute our daughter is!" Alex turned her head to look at Kyoya, only to shriek and cover her eyes with her hands,

"MY EYES! THEY BURN!"

"Well, that's rather rude. Don't you think that'll hurt my feelings?" Alex snapped back at Kyoya, removing her hand so she could point at him dramatically, crying out in protest,

"I don't care if they hurt! Put a shirt on- are you _trying _to blind me!? I get it, your hot and that makes all the girls' swoon, but seriously man! I don't want that image stained in my head-!" She groaned and dragged a hand down her face, whining, "Too late..." Kyoya smirked at that.

"If it makes you feel any better, we get more profit if we show skin."

"Yes, yes, I know this." Alex muttered, shaking her head. "Rawr...Hey, wait," She grew thoughtful for a minute. "I thought Tamaki wanted to do a Tropical Paradise three months ago?" Kyoya stopped writing in his book and said,

"Impressive, you actually remembered something." She gained a tick mark, but wasn't really angry. It takes a lot to get her actually angered-she just gets irritated.

"Hey! What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"Guys!" Kaoru interrupted the argument, walking up-also shirtless and using a blue cloth to hold up his bangs. He wore blue, plaid shorts that stopped at his knees and very expensive necklaces that draped against his chest. Hikaru wore an outfit identical to Kaoru. "There's another guest coming!"

"Positions!" Tamaki cried out everyone ran to get into them, rose petals at the ready.

**"Welcome," **They all greeted, Haruhi poking her head in with wide-eyes. Hikaru deadpanned, once Haruhi came it and fell to her knees, groaning.

"Oh, it's you, Haruhi. Your late."

"I thought it was a guest," Kaoru explained to her, "So we positioned ourselves." Haruhi quickly lifted up her calender and muttered, looking at it with dull eyes,

"According to my calender, it's the middle of December." Tamaki started to rant, sitting in his Bali throne,

"It's only the Commoners' feeling of being afraid of the cold and huddling up inside a kotatsu!" He stood, causing Alex to sweatdrop. _I thought you had a thing for kotatsus'... _She watched as he waltzed over to Haruhi, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Why do we have this perfect air conditioning system? A good man can't hide his beautiful body by wearing lots of clothes-no! Its Winter, that's why we welcome all those cute little kittens and puppies," They were actually receiving a few male guests now, because of Alex being a Hostess. "with warm, Southern country aura! Yes! This is the Ultimate Eden! A sparkling, beautiful oasis!"

"That's funny, because I feel a massive chill right now." Haruhi said with a sour look on her face, looking away from Tamaki irritably.

_It almost makes me wonder what got those two together in the first place... _Alex sweatdropped, shaking her head.

"Alexis!" Daichi called from one of the tables- he had black hair and brown eyes. "Are you coming back or not?"

Alex stood up straight and looked at him, nodding, "Yeah, yeah, I'll be there in a second!" She started to head that way, only to feel a hand clamp itself on her shoulder. She jumped, startled, and looked behind in surprise. She had to crane her neck a bit as she looked up at Kyoya, eyes wide. "Wh-What the hell was that for!? Why do you keep appearing out of nowhere!?"

"You just don't pay attention," He corrected her, a smirk forming its way onto his lips, before he forced it back down, "Keep in mind, men are more straightforward than woman and are more aggressive." Alex raised an eyebrow, and questioned,

"What? You think he's gonna try to rape me or something?" Kyoya's glasses flashed,

"I'd rather not have one of our precious Hosts get into even more trouble than they already get themselves into," He told her, pretty much telling her he was talking about her. "Just be careful. Tamaki would throw a fit if something happened to his precious "Daughter"."

Alex briefly remembered her own dad, and her chest tightened. Black hair, blue eyes, glasses...overweight. Major history freak and he always gave her lectures. Her parents were divorced, and her dad remarried to a woman from Mexico. Her mother looked a lot like Alex, with the brown hair and eyes. They had the same nose, but Alex had her dad's round headshape. She then remembered her two sisters and her brother, _I wonder how they're doing...I hope they're happy. Happier than I am, at least. __  
_

She gave Kyoya a small, slightly forced smile, "I'll be fine. I can take 'em!" She lifted her right arm up and clenched her fist, placing her left hand on her bicep as though she actually had muscle, "See! I got da powah!"

"...Moron." Was all he said before he turned and left. Alex watched his retreating form for a few moments as he headed back to his table, before heading over to her own. She sat down and smiled, giving them a peace sign,

"So, what's up?"

Daichi grinned at her, "Well, I was just waiting for my favorite Hostess to get back so I could talk to her."

"Aw, thank you! Your so sweet." Alex felt her ego grow slightly, "Thanks, my favorite male guest!"

"So..." Daichi trailed off thoughtfully for a moment, his gray eyes sparkling. "Since you're the only Hostess, are you going to the Christmas party the Host Club is holding?"

Alex blinked in surprise and frowned, "I-I don't know, probably-most likely, maybe, yes? I think." She shrugged, lifting her hands up, "Who knows?" Only to gasp when her hand knocked a cup over-She made to catch, while Daichi gasped and made to pull her away before she got tea spilled on her. Alex felt his hand grip her arm and she barely had time to blink before she was being tugged towards him,

"Look out!" Alex's back crashed against his chest and Daichi quickly wrapped an arm around her stomach as he fell back onto the couch, Alex practically sitting in his lap. "-Oof!"

"Whoa!" Alex grunted as they landed. She quickly opened her eyes and instantly found herself uncomfortable, not liking this position one bit. "Uh-Can you let-"

"Are you okay?" Daichi asked worriedly, gray eyes wide. Alex tensed and nodded awkwardly,

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Can you let go-"

"Sorry!" He gasped and released the girl, who stood and took a few steps back away from him, only to groan and curse,

"Damn it, towels, towels..." She muttered, "Towels-Haruhi!" Alex cried out and rushed towards the brunette, who was talking to Kyoya. She wrapped her arms around her neck, hugging her and asking, "Do you know where the towels are at?"

Kyoya gestured with his pen to the counter behind them, "Over there."

"So," Haruhi spoke up as Alex released her, "Are you the one who came up with this Tropical Paradise idea?"

"I have no decision making authority," He told her, pushing up his glasses. "all club activities are made the Host Club King, Tamaki. But, I guess there's no harm in admitting to casually slipping a Bali Photobook on his desk." He smiled and Alex had to comment,

"Well, aren't you friendly." His glasses flashed as he watched Alex walk away, not giving him a chance to reply. Alex quickly cleaned up the spilled tea, then running to get another paper towel and running to the kitchen to wet it, ran back and got another dry one, ran back to the mess and wiped the sticky mess, then use the dry towel to dry the floor so no one would slip. "Done!" She declared and made to throw the towels away,

"Wait, Alexis!" Alex paused and turned to look at Daichi confused,

"What's up?" She asked curiously, not knowing if she should be worried or not. She gained that gut feeling though...Unfortunately, she always ends up going against that feeling-intentionally or not.

"C-Can you, ah, I don't know, dance with me during the party?" Alex opened her mouth to reply, saying she didn't know how to dance, when a hand placed itself on her shoulder and a voice from behind her spoke, startling her and causing her to jump,

"She would love too." Sebastian-no, Kyoya! She whirled her head around to glare at him,

"Can you stop _doing _that!? You're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days!"

Daichi smile grew, "Really!? Awesome-I-I'll see you there!" He made to leave, since his time was up.

Alex then realized what happened and her jaw dropped, causing her to turn and glare at Kyoya again, pushing his hand off of her shoulder, "What was that for? I can't dance!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Oh, and why not?"

"Because I don't know how!" She only knew that she was supposed to follow the guy's lead and the dancing she saw on TV-not that she actually knew how to waltz. Kyoya's eyes hid behind his glasses, "I don't know about you, but I didn't come from some rich family-I never went to any fancy parties-actually, I never went to parties in general. I never actually really did leave my house," She laughed at that, getting off track. "I only left when we needed to go shopping or something like that, and school. Wait-there was that one Graduation Dance that I went too-but I only danced when Lila dragged me over-she had to tell me what to do...And then there was the Hokey Pokey, oh, and the chicken dance! And...what else was there?" Alex trailed off in thought, completely off track.

If Kyoya was that kind of man, he would've sweatdropped. But, since he was not, he pushed up his glasses and said with a slightly smirk, "Then it's a good thing that you have me as your teacher."

"And-wait, _what?" _Alex's eyes went wide and she waved her hands in front of her, shaking her head rapidly, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no-I-I can't! You can't, I mean, that wouldn't-I would end up stepping-I-I-" Unable to form proper sentences, she sighed, hanging her and slumping her shoulders, "Fine..."

"Good. Then that means from this moment onward, you are now my apprentice." He smiled a shit-eating and grin and Alex felt her eyes widen considerably...If this was anything like Ciel and Sebastian's dance lesson...

"B-But-But you're too tall!" Alex blurted, unable to hide her worry, "It'll be hard to dance with a guy whose a head taller than me!" _Liam was almost head taller than me...He was at least 5'6. Kyoya's most likely 5'10 or something of the sort. _"You're like, six feet! In case you haven't noticed, I'm a hobbit!"

"You'll do fine." He told her, glasses flashing again.

"Will not! I'll end up stepping on your feet, or tripping, or falling, or-or-" She was cut off when he placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair slightly.

"Don't be such a moron." Alex's eyes widened at the tone of voice he used, or more specifically, those words. If she remembered correctly, Kyoya often called Tamaki a "moron" out of affection. And if...

"Are we friends?" Alex blinked and clamped a hand over her mouth, realizing that she said that aloud. _Shit... _Kyoya looked at her with wide-eyes for a brief second and pulled his hand away,

"I believe that's the correct term, yes." He said, and for a moment, Alex wondered if he was teasing her. "We are friends."

Alex felt incredibly embarrassed, feeling her face heat up slightly, "O-Oh...okay, I mean," She fiddled with her fingers, not knowing how to react, "I-I just, I didn't know if we were, or-or if we were frenamies, or, I just-I don't-Um," She didn't know what to say for a moment and paused, hesitating, before lifting her head up and giving him a closed-eyes smile, bangs falling into her face, "I'm glad. I-I mean, great! Ah..." She opened her eyes went she felt him bump his fist on her head gently,

"Stop mumbling and get back to work already." His fist formed into a hand against and ruffled her hair, before removing it slowly and walking back to his station. Alex was left staring wide-eyed at him- _why do I feel so excited? A-And what was with that? _Alex was greatly confused and jumped when she felt Hikaru and Kaoru place their elbows on her shoulders,

"Looks like Kyoya-Sempai," Hikaru began, both him and Kaoru sporting grins,

"Has a soft spot for you." Kaoru finished. Alex blinked, taking in their words, and played dumb, staring at them confused,

"What're you talking about? He's just..." having one of those days? Overly affectionate? Um... _What can I say!? Damn it, Kyoya, how dare you confuse me! _"He's just being a friend." Yeah, let's go with that.

The brothers' raised their eyebrows at her, disbelieving.

"You actually got one Kyoya-Sempai's good side?" Hikaru questioned, eyes wide with disbelief and surprise.

"Maybe he likes you?" Kaoru suggested, ever-so a romantic. Alex deadpanned, looking at Kaoru,

"Dude, you sound like my brother. Kaoru, please, get your head out of the gutter. There's no way he likes me-it's impossible." _I'm not pretty-I have a scar on my freaking face that pretty much took away whatever pretty-ness I had. I fail miserably in math-the teacher STILL hadn't found me a tutor yet, and I'm obnoxious, childish, and just awkward with people in general. "How could anyone like _you_?" _That question rang in her head and she frowned, chest tightening slightly. Keith wasn't the nicest of guys-hilariously, when they were little, they used to be best friends. And a week before her first boyfriend dumped, Keith look at her oddly and questioned her, "How could anyone like _you_" and walked off. Alex didn't even know what she did to be asked that, but a week later, Eric dumped her.

Alex began to doubt people and their motives, if they were actually her friends, or were really just being "nice" to her. She still has those doubts sometimes. But she came to a conclusion that if someone wasn't her friend, then they wouldn't put up with her-those she still has doubts every now and then. It was probably those actions, that question and what happened after, that caused her to develop her one big fear.

Alex was scared. She was scared of being left behind, forgotten, ditched, _alone_, no one caring about her. She may not act like, but inside, she really appreciates the friends' she has and her family...Or least, the family and friends' she used to have. She had no family, only friends' now. But even so...it still lingered. Her fear wasn't necessarily Athazagoraphobia, seeing how she doesn't break down and freak out and have panic attacks about it. No, she usually just keeps it in and cries silently when she's in her room and trying to sleep, the fear pricking away in her mind-but it isn't really serious.

**"And why's that?" **They questioned, not really liking the way she said that. She gave them a smile, pulling away from them, and pointed at herself,

"Dude, be serious-who on earth could like someone like me? Besides," She continued, acting cheerful even though it actually quite hurt, "I plan on dying alone and adopting a whole bunch of orphans to carry on my family name, living with a whole bunch of cats!" Even Casey had more of a love life than she did-which was sad, since they were both hopeless with romance.

Alex screeched loudly when she was suddenly tackled in a hug by Tamaki, who had tears streaming out of his eyes, "_MY POOR DAUGHTEEEER! YOU MUST FEEL SO LONELY! WAAAAAHHHHHH! DON'T SAY SUCH THIIINGS! YOU'RE ABOSLUTELY PERFECT THE WAY YOU ARE-YOU ARE SO ADORABLE, THERE'S NO WAY ANYONE COULD NOT NOT LIKE YOU!" _Her face was pressed against his chest and she cried out, face bright red,

"LET ME GOOOOO! AND PUT A SHIRT ON! HARUHIIII! GET TAMAKI OFF OF MEEEE!"

"Sorry, but I don't feel like being hugged by that idiot," The brunette deadpanned, apologizing as she held her hands up in surrender. _Kyoya-No! Better idea! SASQUATCH!_

"MORI-SEMPAI!" Mori paused in his sipping of tea and looked at her, "HELP ME!" His face hardened and his eyes widened at the sudden cry for help-Mori, ignoring the slight sense of deja vu, charged towards Tamaki and removed Alex from him, quickly slinging her over his shoulder.

"U-Uh, Mori-Sempai, you didn't have to go that far..." Tamaki trailed off, also having a sense of deja vu. In fact, everyone in the room was. "C'mon Alex, come back to Daddy-"

"My Dad has black hair and blue eyes, not blonde with blue eyes." She replied, holding onto Mori-Sempai so she didn't fall off. "Th-Thanks Mori-Sempai."

"Hn." He calmly set her down and replied to Tamaki, "I was asked to help, so I helped." Tamaki made a lung for her and Alex shrieked, dodging and running around Mori Tamaki tried to hug her and comfort her.

"Come back, daughter! Let daddy comfort you!" She shrieked at she ran towards the counter Haruhi and Kyoya were standing at earlier,

"I don't need comforted-_gyah!_" She screamed when she slipped on a banana peel-she blamed the random monkey that appears randomly and drops them-and flew forwards. She flew towards the counter, very dramatic like-almost like she was flying, and held her hands out-bracing herself for impact.

"Got you!" She felt her head collide with something soft and felt something snake its arms around her waist-tickling her. If she wasn't falling, she would've jumped. "Urgh!" The person grunted as Alex slammed into him, almost losing his balance.

"Sempai, Alex, are you guys okay!?" Kaoru cried out, alarmed and worried.

"Good thing he caught her, otherwise she would've slammed into the counter," Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good job, Kyo-Chan!" Honey declared, smiling widely. Kyo-Chan...?

Alex removed her head from the soft-yet somehow still being hard- object and looked up, eyes wide. "K-Kyoya?"

"Tamaki..." he growled, aura darkening. Alex froze, the aura surrounding her and sending chills down her spine.

Tamaki lost all color at the Shadow King, "K-Kyoya? Are you alright?"

Haruhi sweatdropped, "I'm more worried about Alex...She's right against him and he's using that aura..."

"C-Can you let go now?" Alex squeaked, slightly intimidated. "A-And put a shirt on-why is everyone shirtless, damn it!?"

...

"Hey boss, stop sulking and eating that Commoners' Ramen and get over here and help us with the planning!" Hikaru ordered, annoyed at Tamaki's actions. Kaoru raised an eyebrow, questioning,

"Does it really bother you that Princess Kasugasaki has taken a liking to Haruhi?"

Kyoya, sitting between Haruhi and Alex, spoke, typing away on his Pineapple laptop, "He shouldn't really be surprised; She's had the illness for a while now, hasn't she?"

"What illness?" Haruhi questioned and Alex opened her mouth to speak-but never got the chance as Hikaru and Kaoru cut her off.

"She's got the Host-Hopping disease," Hikaru explained, raising his hands up. Kaoru mimicked his brother,

"A.K.A. Never-the-same-boy-twice disease." Kaoru informed her.

"Usually a guests chooses a Host, or Hostess," He added as an afterthought, "and visits them regularly. However, Princess Kanako, tends to change her favorite on a regular basis."

"Can I speak now?" Alex interrupted, ignored and irritated, "Or are you all gonna cut me off again?"

Kyoya smirked, "You should really learn to speak up then."

"Sh-Shove off! Anyway, last week she was with Tamaki, the week before that it was Kyoya, before that it was Mori and Honey, then it was Hikaru and Kaoru."

Haruhi looked at her confused, "What about you?"

"I'm just way to awesome for her, I guess. Or maybe it's because I'm invisible-isn't the first time it happened and certainly isn't the last. I'm used to it." Haruhi looked at her with a slight sympathetic look.

"Lexi-Chan is right!" Honey spoke up.

"So, basically, he's upset because I took her from him?" Haruhi questioned bluntly, getting it now after going over what everyone told her. Tamaki suddenly got up in her face, screaming,

"SHUT UP! I couldn't care less! Ah, that's it! I'm running out of patience!" Tamaki snapped, backing away and pointing at her, placing a hand on his hip, "Haruhi! It's time you started dressing like a girl!"

Haruhi sweatdropped confused, while Honey had tears in his eyes as he stepped closer to Kyoya, shaking. Alex patted the honey-blonde on the head, ruffling his hair gently,

"There, there."

"I don't get it!" Tamaki messed up his hair, before pointing at Haruhi again, "How can you be so popular with the ladies when you, yourself are a lady!?"

_I'm a girl, too... _Alex felt ignored and forgotten again, leaning over and resting her chin on her arms, _or did he forget that? I don't exactly act like one... Heh, I'm not even supposed to be here. _

"No one in this school knows the truth except for those of us here!" Tamaki snapped, Hikaru and Kaoru appearing behind him with raised hands,

"Yeah. Gym was an elective, so she opted out of it."

"And the attendance numbers are all mixed together so no one can tell."

Alex sighed, "This is ridiculous."

"Isn't it always?" Alex shrugged at Kyoya's question,

"I guess. But that's what makes it interesting, I suppose." She then remembered something and turned her head to look at Kyoya, her left cheek resting on one of her arms, "Oh, yeah, thanks for earlier."

"For?"

"For-you know, when you caught me instead of letting me crack my skull open?" She told him, "Thanks..."

"DADDY WANTS YOU TO GO BACK TO LOOKING LIKE YOU WERE BEFOOOORE!" Tamaki screeched, not giving Kyoya a chance to reply, and pulled out an enlarged photo of Haruhi with long hair, shoving it into her face.

"DON'T GO ENLARGING MY PHOTOS WITHOUT ASKING ME FIRST!" Haruhi snapped.

"The more I look at this, the more amazed I am," Hikaru commented, looking at the enlarged photo that was now hanging on a wall. "How could this," He gestured to the photo, then look at Haruhi, "Possibly become that?"

She started to explain, bored and irritated, "The day before school started, one of the neighbor hood kids got some gum stuck in my hair. Getting gum out of hair is troublesome, so I decided to just cut it all off."

"Alex looks more feminine than you did when we first met you," Hikaru rudely commented, jabbing his thumb at the brunette. She looked up at him offended,

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Be nice, Hikaru," Kaoru scolded, shaking his head with a grin.

Haruhi shrugged, "I didn't care if I looked like a dude, you know?"

"A GIRL SHOULD NEVER REFER TO HERSELF AS A DUDE!" Tamaki screeched, seeming to forget about Alex's language. He turned towards them all, tears streaming down his face as he cried out, "_MOMMA!" _Alex tried not to snort. "Haruhi's using those dirty boy words again..." He cried, falling to his knees on the ground.

Kaoru look at Kyoya, apologizing, "I'm sorry, but who's "Momma"?"

"Based on Club position, I assume it's me," He replied, arms crossed. Haruhi placed her hands on her hips, furrowing her eyebrows,

"Look, I don't get what you're so upset about," She began, frowning. "If I work as a host I can continue to pay off my debt and that'll never happen if I'm just an errand boy!"

Hikaru spoke up, hand on his hip, "Hate to change the subject: Do you have formal dance experience? You'll need it at the party."

Haruhi's eyes widened, sweat beading down her face nervously, "Uh...No, but my quota doesn't have anything to do with the party, right?" Her head tilted robotically. "I'm not interested in going to events, so if I could be excused..."

"Absolutely not!" Tamaki cried out suddenly, standing and placing a hand to his chin, "A refined gentleman _must _know how to dance. If you want to live the life of a Host that bad, then you're going to have to work for it, Haruhi! I order you to master dancing the Waltz in one week!" He twirled, "You will demonstrate it for us at the party~." He paused and pointed at her, intimidating, "Or I'll tell the whole school that you're a girl!"

"Speaking of girls'..." Hikaru looked around, hand still on his hip. "Where's Alex?"

"Wait, does she even know how to dance? Can she even dance-She has two left feet." Kaoru began, remembering all the moments of her klutziness.

"Tama-Chan! Lexi-Chan vanished!"

Alex felt like banging her head against the wall. Seriously, they didn't even notice her sitting in the corner on the far side of the room. Forgotten much? _Nice to know where I stand... _

"Over there." Mori's deep voice spoke up and Alex blinked, lifting her head to see him pointing at her. She gave them a hesitant peace sign,

"Uh, What's up?"

...Next day, Music Room #3- 3:25 P.M...

"When the music starts, beat with your left foot," Kyoya instructed, a hand on Alex's waist while the other was grasped in her hand. Their feet moved, a bit sloppily because of Alex's inexperience and stepped over one another. She stepped on his foot and flinched, though he said nothing. "One, two, one, two-Now we try a natural turn."

Kyoya moved easily and calmly, while Alex stumbled and gasped, looking down nervously at their feet. "Head up," He instructed, "Always look into the Dance Partner's eyes, despite how worried you are. Now, slide your foot forward," Alex looked up and down and up and down before trying to slide her foot forward without injuring him, "Head up." Alex's head snapped up and she accidentally hit his leg, causing her to trip and face-plant into his chest. Kyoya was silent as she retracted almost instanly, apologizing,

"I'm sorry-I'm so sorry-I-I didn't-I can't..." She trailed off, seeing him stare intently at her. She blinked, unsure of what was going on.

"You ability for dancing isn't so much nonexistent, as it lacking."

"I told you! I can't dance! I never had and never will be able too!"

"Again, and this time," Kyoya's glasses flashed, "I expect you to keep your head up and stare into your partner's eyes. Do not look at your feet, nor just cling on for dear life as you dance. Relax yourself, now, begin. One, two, three, one, two, three...I told you to stop staring at your feet."

"I'm sorry!" She flinched, "I-I feel like I'm going to mess up, okay!? The only thing I'm good at involved paper and pencils! I can't walk or dance worth crap!"

"Quit down-grading yourself and dance." Alex let out a small yelp when he pushed forward, causing her to back up, stumbling. "Quickly now, One, two, three. One, two, three..."

"S-Slow down!" He had Alex backing up again and she stumbled, tripping over her own feet and falling backwards. She screamed and reached forward, instinctively trying to grab something to stop her fall. She managed to grab the lapels of his jacket, accidentally dragging him down with her. "Oof!" She grunted, Kyoya's heavy form on top of her. "You're...fat!" She gasped,hands pressed against his chest.

"How very rude," He commented, unaffected as he lifted himself off of her. "Do I have to give a lesson in manners as well?" He sat up and pushed up his glasses, still on top of Alex.

"I have manners, I use them, but I'm also honest and you're heavy." Alex propped herself up with her elbows, giving Kyoya an irritated look. "Are you having fun? I'd like my legs back now."

Kyoya stood, holding a hand out for Alex to take, and after a moment's hesitation, she did and stood, stumbling slightly, but quickly regained her balance and squeaked when Kyoya suddenly pulled her to him, placing a hand on her waist, "Again."

"Seriously? You're so stingy!" She whined, "It's because of the dancing that we ended up in that position in the first place!"

"If you don't quite down, I'll grab my ruler and hit you with it."

"You don't have a rule-_ow_!" He _literally _pulled a ruler out of nowhere and smacked her in the head with it. "Jerk."

"Moron."

"Glasses person."

"I am not participating in such a childish act."

"Ha! I win!"


	8. Dance before Life

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila. I don't own any anime or their chacraters. I only won Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler refrences. I have...recently finished watching Season 2...I would make a fanfic, but I need to read the manga first. It sucsk so badly! I knwo that they have the same voice actor, but when I'm writing Kyoya's lines I hear Sebastian's voice! GRAAaAAHHHH! BASSY LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME!**

**December 14-3:21 P.M.**

"Boss is acting blue," Hikaru commented, looking at Tamaki who sitting on a on a window rail, a depressed aura surrounding him, "Not to mention that he's posing like a model."

Kaoru turned his head to look at his brother, saying, "I heard he wanted to be her dance partner-but if you think about it, it would never happen because he's way to tall to stand in as a female."

"Sucks to be him, huh." Alex commented, unsure of what they were supposed to do. She blinked in surprise when Honey grabbed Mori's hands and dragged him to the middle of the room,

"We're okay with it!" He and Mori started to dance, Honey as the male and Mori as the...female?

"Wait, I'm confused, is Mori supposed to be the girl or is Honey the girl?" The Host Club members were used to her lack of honorifics, though there are moments were she uses them.

"Mori-Sempai is the girl," Kaoru informed her, causing her to nod.

"Oh, okay. Hey, they're pretty good!" Hikaru deadpanned,

"You guys are out of common sense already!"

Alex grinned cheekily at him, declaring wisely, "We can't get out of what we were never in, Hikaru!" He tensed at his name and his whirled around to look at her with wide-eyes.

"How did you-" Alex didn't listen, she was focusing more on Kanako and Haruhi's conversation.

"I'm glad I got to spend this time with you, Haruhi. I'm rather happy because I can monopolize you," Kanako told her, smiling seductively. Alex almost raised an eyebrow at that. _How can she NOT tell that Haruhi is a girl? I mean seriously... _

"Oh, um..." Haruhi didn't quite know what to say to that. Kanako lifted up a green tea cup and gasped,

"Oh my, this is a new tea set, isn't it?" Alex sneaked up quietly behind Haruhi, and lunged, wrapping her arms around the girl's neck and shouting,

"And bingo is his nameo~!" Kanako looked up at the active brunette alarmed. She took in the mad grin, scar, messy hair, and big brown eyes and relaxed. She recognized this girl,

"Ah, hello, Miss Alex." Alex beamed at her, grinning widely. Kanako was, and still is, very pretty. With her light brown eyes and short, auburn hair that was combed very neatly, her fair skin and graceful figure-Alex will admit, she was slightly jealous of her. But she didn't let it show.

"What's up?" She gave Kanako a piece sign. Haruhi muttered,

"Why is it always me?"

"You have sharp eyes, Princess Kasugazaki." Kyoya commented, walking up with his book tucked to his side. "This is our first day using it." He gave her his usual "Host" smile as she smiled into the tea cup,

"I see...Such a lovely color..." Alex blinked when she caught sight of Kanako's slightly teary eyes. Her brown eyes widened considerably-Kanako had a small, sad smile that clearly showed she was remembering happy, but painful memories. Her eyes glistened with tears, yet did not fall. It showed a strong spirit, that longed for the past. Alex felt her chest tighten slightly; She recognized that look.

"You must really like tableware, huh?" Haruhi commented, smiling. Kanako freaked out, knocking the cup over and pilling tea on her finger,

"What!? NO, NO, NOT AT ALL-_yowww!" _She cried out in pain.

"Let's go to the Nurse's Office!" Haruhi panicked, grabbing Kanako's wrist, and dragging her out of the Club room. Alex blinked, forcibly removed from the girl and now seated on the floor, and pouted childishly.

"She could of at least asked me to get off of her...How rude."

"You are not one to talk," She heard Kyoya comment, causing her to lift her head and blinked at the ruler that was pointed at her. "You still lack in manners."

"I do too have manners! Like so," She stood up straight and put on her best posh, British voice, bowing in a very "Sebastian Michaelis" manner. "Good evening, Young Master. Today, the tea is a special brew of Jasmine and we have cakes from the finest," Company? Craftesman? "of bakers. The tea set is that of ginori, a wonderful green color that flatters even the strangest of tastes!" She grinned up at him, standing with a hand placed over her chest. "Is it not to your liking, Young Lord?" She flinched when she felt him bump his fist onto her head.

"I said _manners_, not _servitude_." Alex shrugged, grinning cheekily at him,

"Aw, but I was having so much fun! Spoil sport..."

"If you want to be a maid,"

"Then wear this!" Alex's eyes popped out of her head at the revolting sight. She backed up towards Kyoya and hid behind him, crying out,

"Noo! I'd rather be a butler than a maid! I'm not going to wear something frilly and poofy and slutty-looking like that!" It was a French Maid dress-which, most definitely, would end way higher than mid-thigh if put on. She stood and gripped the back of Kyoya's uniform, leaning over to look over his right arm, crying out indignantly, "I've got a Kyoya and I'm not afraid to use him!"

Hikaru snickered and grinned, saying, "Oh, so you _do _like him?"

Alex's face went red from embarrassment and growled out, "I _told _you! I don't like anyone and there's no way anyone would like me! So shut up already!" She snapped, pained at the memory of remembering Liam. She liked him, he was one of her best friends, and she knew he would never like her. In fact, it was practically impossible for him to ever like her now that Akari had...Alex figured she should just forget him, forget about her past, but she didn't want too. What kind of person would she become? Soulless? Lifeless? A person with no meaning in life...A monster? No, Alex would rather live with the pain then become something which she was not.

After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. For she was simply one _Hell _of a Hostess.

She removed her right hand from Kyoya and pointed at them angrily, "If you don't know what you're talking about, then _shut the hell up! Okay!? The person I like doesn't even exist anymore, so leave me ALONE!" _She breathed heavily, chest heaving up and down as her grip on Kyoya's jacket tightened. Her chest hurt and her eyes stung with un-shed tears. She bit her bottom lip as it trembled, trying to hold it in.

Hikaru stared at her in shock, mouth slightly agape. He wasn't expecting that outburst.

Kyoya was the one who broke the silence, "Why, has anyone see Mori-Sempai or Honey-Sempai?"

"U-Um, Mori-Sempai accidentally stepped on Honey-Sempai after he fell and took him to the Infirmary..." Kaoru interrupted, walking towards them with a nervous look on his face. He held a tea cup in his right hand, a tea pot in his left. "D-Does anyone want some tea?" He suggested, lifting the pot up slightly in a gesture. Clearly he heard the argument, and clearly he heard Alex's outburst.

Alex slowly removed her hands from Kyoya's jacket, bangs falling over her eyes and covering her face, muttering as she gripping the hem of her uniform jacket, "Tea would be nice...thanks." She walked over to Kaoru and took the cup, regardless of what he was thinking or saying, and headed over to sit in the far corner, next to the window Tamaki was moping at. She took a sip of the tea as she sat down, before setting the cup down gently on the ground, and curling up in her usual ball, mushrooms growing around her.

She wanted to cry, she wanted to apologize, she wanted to vent and scream and punch and whine and complain, but she didn't. She just sat there quietly in her corner of woe and said, _did, _nothing.

...

"The two of them were childhood friends," Kyoya listed off, reading from his little black book. "and it seems that the engagement was enlisted by their parents. I didn't think the information would benefit us, so I disregarded it."

Alex sweatdropped from her spot at the table. "Only you, Kyoya, only you." Kyoya looked at her through his glasses, eyes hidden from sight, and raised an elegant eyebrow. _Wow, who knew he could make an eyebrow description as "Elegant"? _She almost snorted into her tea cup and broke out coughing, pounding her fist on her chest as she tried to regain herself. "I-I'm okay!"

"I see..." Tamaki seemed to sweatdrop at his friend's response. "Alex, you have a very...valid point."

"Thank you, I try." She grinned at that.

"Tohru Suzushima...Good Grades, fair social status, He's ordinary looking, but reliable."

Alex spoke up, commenting bluntly, "I thought he was kinda cute." Again, Kyoya raised an eyebrow.

"I'd question your taste in men, but..." Alex shrugged,

"If it makes you feel better, I'm a one-guy-only kind of girl."

Hikaru and Kaoru grinned at each other, wrapping their arms around each other's shoulders, "Look at this, Kaoru..."

"My, oh my, could it be, Hikaru?"

"I think it is, Kaoru."

"They really _are_ flirting, Hikaru?"

They grasped each other's hands and twined their fingers together, a pink and bubbly background surrounding them as they raised their entwined hands in the air, crying out, **"I knew it would come to be! A match made in _heaven~!_" **

Kyoya sighed, pushing up his glasses, "Please get your minds out of the gutter. We were doing no such thing."

"Besides, you're all hot, so I technically wasn't flirting." The brothers' paused and looked at her surprised. Alex gained a thoughtful look on her face,

"Er, well, everyone except Haruhi and Honey-Sempai. Honey's adorable, like a little kid, and Haruhi's cute in a friendship-kind of way. Besides, if you guys weren't good looking, do you honestly believe anyone would even come to the Host Club?" She raised her arms in shrug, shaking her head as she "tsk'd" at them, "Tsk, tsk, fo' shame..."

"Anyway," Kyoya spoke up again, changing it to a more _important _matter of judging Tohru, "If I had to fault him for anything,"

"He doesn't have much of a presence." Hikaru spoke up, raising a hand. Kaoru did the same, announcing,

"And he's fainthearted." Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead gave the two boys a look, asking sarcastically,

"What, and you're not?"

"So in other words," Kyoya began again, a hand on his hip, "He's boring." And slammed his book shut. Alex sweatdropped,

"Well, aren't you guys friendly?" Haruhi scooted her chair closer to Alex and leaned in, whispering with a sweatdrop,

"I had no idea they were so merciless toward other guys..." Alex looked at her female friend-Akari's supposedly childhood friend- and whispered back loudly,

"You get used to it after awhile...They once judged this guy who apparently was "hitting" on me, and went so far as to call him a "Dog"."

"Suzushima is a good boy, right?" Honey questioned from his spot upon Mori's shoulders.

"Yeah."

"Alright everyone," Tamaki started to announce, walking forward while everyone stood in two lines, "We're going to have to start working on our strategy."

Alex raised a hand, going to save them a whole lot of time, "Hikaru and Kaoru write a fake love letter to Suzushima," She forgot his first name, "Haruhi dresses up as the girl that "Wrote" that letter and goes and meets him in a classroom, Tamaki brings Kanako to said classroom, she misunderstands the situation and runs off in tears, Suzushima chases after her and they kiss, make up, dance, all that jazz. Ta-Da~!" She threw her arms out to her side as she sang, trying to make it more dramatic. "Think that'll work?"

They stared at her, and Haruhi deadpanned,

"I _am _ a girl."

"What? As a wise man, who doesn't really act all that wise, said," Alex began again, talking with her hands as always, "Men-and, er, lady!" She looked at Haruhi and nodded, gesturing to her, and continued, "It is our responsibility as members of the elite Ouran Host Club to make every girl happy!" And in my case, both men and girls! But you get the point." She crossed her arms and nodded, "Right? You get it...right?"

Kyoya crossed his arms thoughtfully for a moment after pushing up his glasses, and spoke, "Actually...That might work."

Haruhi then cried out indignantly, "Wait, why do _I _have to dress as a girl? What about Alex-!" She cut her off, grinning,

"Because, Haruhi, you're pretty. I'm not-'specially 'cause of his beauty mark!" She traced the scar on her chin, still smiling-if not slightly bitterly this time. "And besides," She walked over and placed her hands on her shoulders, "I'm sure Tamaki-Sempai would _love _to see you in a pretty dress. You'll make all the men _swoon_." Alex made a gasping and sighing motion as she removed herself from Haruhi, swaying to the side as she acted as though she was going to fall.

"I said it once and I'll say it again, I could care less about looks, Alex. And besides, so what if you have that scar? You don't look that bad-" Alex smiled at her words, but didn't believe one bit of it.

"C'mon, Hikaru, Kaoru, let's go make ourselves a letter and get Haruhi a dress." She started to walk away, but froze at the feeling of a rather big and pale hand being clamped on her shoulder,

"Come now, Alex. You're our favored Hostess, you simply _can't _go to a Christmas Party without formal attire." She froze at the tone of voice and turned her head with wide brown eyes, looking into the dark depths of Kyoya's eyes that, if it were possible, seemed to be _smirking _at her. "Besides, we still have to work on your dancing skills: You still lack greatly in that section. And I'm _sure _that boy would love to see you in a lovely dress."

Alex felt like she was being consumed by the dark aura that surrounded Kyoya. His aura was dark, controlling, _demanding_, like it was going to eat her if she didn't obey. _This is...slightly freaking me out. _

"One condition!" She blurted before she could think. Kyoya's aura dissipated slightly in confusion, but he asked,

"And that would be?"

"There was this dress I wore once! I got it from Cato's and it had a really cool jacket. If I draw a picture of it, will you be able to get it? The dress was orange with flower lace and stopped at my knees-the jacket was black. Get me a pen and paper and I'll draw it! I could also draw Haruhi's dress too, if you want me too. Oh! And there was also this pair of slippers that looked like it was designed with green and brown snake scales. I will only wear that, got it? That's the deal."

Unbeknownst to Alex, everyone was cowering at the auras Kyoya and Alex were omitting. Kyoya's aura was purple, slowly fading into a color as black as dark night. Alex was omitting a dark green aura, that faded to a color like midnight. They were both very intimidating, both very demanding, and both not willing to back down. If anything was to be found funny about this, it would be the major height difference. Alex barely went up to Kyoya's shoulders, standing at a height of five feet, while the Cool and Calm host stood at a towering height of five foot eleven.

Kyoya was silent for a moment, trying to scare the girl into submission, before saying, "Very well. I'll see what I can do. But don't think you're going to be opting out of your dance lessons."

"You're too tall, damn it! I told you already! Last time I ended up falling and taking you down with me!"

"Accidents happen."

"Th-Then get me a shorter dance partner!"

"You're going to have to dance with people taller than you at the party, you do realize."

"I-I'm not planning on dancing! You-RAWR! You-you-you-I don't even have a word to describe you!"

He gave a shit-eating grin, arms still crossed, "Why thank you, I didn't realize I was handsome enough to strike a girl like you speechless."

"You-You-GAH! I hate you, J-Jerk!" Alex's face flared angrily in embarrassment, flailing her arms. "Stop twisting my words, you word twister! And just what did you mean by "A girl like me"!? I know I'm obnoxious and all that crap, but you don't have to go and oh-so rudely point it out! Jeesh, talk about a jerk!" She cross her arms, glaring up at him as she narrowed her eyes.

"I'll have you know it's physically impossible for me to take your words out of your mouth and twist them with my hands. In fact, I'd rather not touch that foul mouth of yours at all."

"Oh, well aren't you friendly?" Alex wasn't really all that angered, more as embarrassed. Kyoya was just teasing her for the hell of it, her reactions were rather amusing. "Rawr! I don't like you very much."

Kyoya pushed up his glasses, eyes hiding as he smirked, "So I suppose I should just cancel the order that you made? Very well," He opened his book and Alex cried out,

"You know how much I love you! You're my bestest friend in the whole of the universe!" She gushed, smiling widely as a bubbly, green background formed around her.

"That's what I thought," He spoke, closing his book. "And, just so you know, "Best-est" isn't a word."

"Well, it is in my dictionary!"

...**December 19...**

"Thank you for coming here, my little lambs and all my little sheep!" Tamaki announced as a spotlight flashed down on him, "The Ouran High School Host Club bids you..." He bowed slowly and dramatically, "Welcome..."

The chandelier lights all flashed on and the orchestra band started to play their violins.

All the ladies and gentlemen guests' looked at the Hosts and Hostess and clapped, their plaudits' echoing throughout the main hall. Kyoya spoke, voice loud and clear,

"As always, ladies, the Hosts are here solely for your entertainment!"

Alex hesitated, it being her turn to speak up next, "And as your only Hostess, gentlemen," She gave a smile, "I'm here to dance the night away with you all, entertaining you to the fullest!" She bowed dramatically, rather glad that these slippers fit, unlike her old pair.

She and Kyoya spoke in unison, Alex silently cursing Tamaki for making her speak up like this, **"So we welcome you all to dance to your hearts' content!" **

"Bases on tonight's dancing skills, one lucky lady and gentleman will be announced as tonight's King and Queen!" Kyoya continued, Alex finally getting to shut up. "The rewards will be a passionate kiss on the cheek from our Host Club's King, Tamaki, and everyone's favorite Hostess, Alex!" Her eyes widened, but stood there, not making a comment or face. Her thoughts were running wild though.

_Wh-What!? What the hell-this wasn't in the script! Damn it all, Kyoya, I blame you for this! _She cursed him in her head, rainbows spewing from her mind. Alex missed Tamaki saying something to the girls', but it caused them to swoon and some to even faint. Alex saw everyone look at her expectant and she blinked.

She hesitant gave the crowd a peace sign and a crooked grin, saying, "Um, good luck?" From the crowd, she was able to make out Daichi, who was dressed in a light blue tuxedo. He caught her gaze and waved, causing Alex to wave back-which all the guys' took as a sign of her wishing them luck and they all cheered.

Hikaru and Kaoru moved over to Haruhi and Alex and complained, **"Haruhi, Alex, show some enthusiasm!" **

"I'd rather not...I don't like crowds..." Alex spoke up, looking around for a quiet place to hide, "And I fail with people so-!" Seeing the route that would most likely lead her to a hallway, she started off, only to freeze when a hand gripped the back of her jacket collar.

"I think not, Alex. After all, think of all the men who want to dance with you." His glasses flashed.

"Well excuse me guys, I'm sorry. I'm just not used to this sort of thing," Haruhi explained, slouching with a sour look on her face. "I've only gone to the festivals held in my neighborhood park."

Alex whined, "And I never went to anyone's house or anything! I was always either at home or school and went I did go to a fair or something, it was for band!"

Kyoya, who released Alex's collar, wrote something on a clipboard, speaking up, "I don't really know if you could consider that a party or not." He looked up, "What instrument did you play?"

"Flute, though according to Taylor-she hated me, but then again, she hates everyone. I'm not very good. I'm not very good at playing slow songs-I like playing fast ones." Kyoya blinked at her,

"If she hates you then you can't really take her word for it." Alex shrugged, not really caring.

"Eh, if I suck I suck, nothing I can really do 'bout it."

"Well," Kyoya spoke, clearly giving up on the subject, "since both of you are already here, you might as well get yourselves something to eat. We have quite a spread."

Alex remembered something and questioned curiously, looking at Kyoya, "Wait, do you guys have tuna? Like, for tuna sandwiches?" They're rich, so they'd have something like that right? Or would regular old tuna be considered too low for such high-ranked people such as them?

"Tuna?" Haruhi looked intrigued, "Like...Fancy Tuna?"

The tip of Kyoya's pen cracked at Alex's question, but it snapped in half completely at Haruhi's. You could literally hear the _SNAP _noise it made.

"Fan-"

"-cy-"

"Tuna!?" Tamaki quickly flipped over the banister he was at and landed in front of Alex with a _THUD_, landing on his feet perfectly.

Haruhi and Alex felt themselves get engulfed in a double-cheese-burger hug by Hikaru and Kaoru, who rubbed their faces against theirs.

**"You poor things..." **

Tamaki pointed at Kyoya, who already on the phone, and demanded, "Get some Tuna, both fancy and regular, here now!"

"Yes, hello, add some delux sushi and plain sushi."

"I-I just wanted to know if you had any!" Alex gasped, trying to force her way out of the Hitachiin's grip, "You-You didn't have too-!" She got a mouthful of Hikaru's hair in her mouth.

"Filthy rich jerks..." Haruhi muttered, face bright red from embarrassment.

"Alex! Alexis!" Alex blinked when she heard Daichi's voice and quickly elbowed Hikaru in the stomach, causing him to gasp, and place a hand on his face as she pushed him away, her other hand on Haruhi's shoulder to give her force,

"Yes!? What's up!? What did I do this time?" Daichi didn't walk up the steps or anything, just stayed at the bottom, and said,

"You promised you'd dance with me."

"I did?" She questioned herself, trying to remember, before looking at Kyoya, who blinked at her. Right..._He _did. "Oh-Um, yeah! I remember now! Hold on, give me...a moment...Ger off!" She screamed when Hikaru got back in control and gave her a bear hug. "C-Can't breathe-! Kyoya-!" Hikaru released her almost instantly, once Kyoya spoke,

"Release her." Alex dropped to her knees, flinching.

"You didn't have to drop me! A plain, set-my-feet-back-on-the-ground would've been nice!"

"He was gonna kill me!"

"Get off of me, Kaoru!" Haruhi screeched, trying to push the ginger off of her. Alex groaned, stumbling as she stood and awkwardly walked down the steps, feeling naked in the dress. She wasn't wearing shorts, she wasn't wearing leggings, and the dress stopped at her knees.

"Aaaand I'm back!" Alex announced, finally at the bottom. Alex barely had time to blink before Daichi took her hand and waist and started to dance. "S-Slow down! Jeesh, what is with people fast-dancing?"

"It's more fun this way, Alexis." Daichi grinned at her, brown eyes flashing.

"For you maybe, I'll have you know that I have zero co-ordination."

"Heh, should I just call you "Clumsy" then?" At that, Alex froze and Daichi almost tripped. He looked at her and blinked in surprise. "Alexis?"

"I-I'm fine, come on-We're supposed to be dancing, here." She cracked a small grin, but it didn't really reach her eyes. Daichi frowned and they started to dance again. There was a moment of silence before Daichi asked,

"Hey, Alex?" The brunette blinked at him,

"What's up?"

"Are...you're not dating one of the twins' are you?" Alex looked surprised at the question, "You seem close."

"Uh, no. Please don't put that thought in my head-I mean, sure, yeah, I live with them, but I don't like 'em like that."

"You're living with them!?" His voice heightened in pitch. "Since when!?"

"Since a few months ago after they ran me over and found I had no place to live?"

"What about Kyoya-Sempai then!? Are you dating him?"

"Nope."

"Do you like him?"

"Don't think so, no." Dude, what's with all these questions? _It's not like he likes me or anything...He can't. It's impossible for anyone to like me. _

"Are you sure...You're always talking to him, not to mention he seems to have a soft-spot for you..." _Dear god, what is with all these people!? Kyoya doesn't have a soft-spot for me! He's just my friend! Besides, Kyoya is Kyoya, I doubt he-wait, no, hold on. In the manga it showed that he sorta liked Haruhi and in the anime it's kinda implied...Okay, so he does have the capacity to like someone. He is human. My fault, I forgot. I don't really remember all that much...But I know enough-It's not like I can remember it word-by-word like I used too..._

"Kyoya is just a friend-"

"You even call him without honorific!" Daichi argued, hurt flaring on his face, "How close are you that he lets you call him without honorific?"

Alex hanged her head, groaning, "I'm _American_, we American tend to call people by first name! Unless we hated that person or just called them by their last name for fun. Like Raphael for instance! He called Liam "Harris" all the time even though they're really close!"

"...I still don't believe you."

"Okay, would it make you feel better if I told you I don't think about Kyoya? 'Cause I don't. He's my friend and that's all their is to it. Geesh, what is people's problems these days?"

"...Alex...You're really dense." She glared at him indignantly,

"How so?"

"Because I...I...I really-I really..." He stumbled over his words for a few moments, neither of them noticing that they both stopped dancing. _Really "What"? I highly doubt that this is a confession...Though if I look back to our conversation, it seems like one you'd find in a book or something...nah, doubt it. So what?_

"Um, dude, what is it? "You really" what?" His face flared red and he squeezed his eyes shut. Alex flinched when he squeezed her hand tightly and she barely had time to blink before his face flew into her vision at a remarkable speed and Alex felt his lips roughly on hers.

_No...No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NOOO!_

Alex felt a hand grip the back of her dress and jacket collars and pull her roughly away from Daichi, her back slamming against someone's, obviously a male's, chest.

"I really like you!" Daichi blurted tears in his eyes. He knew rejection when he saw it on her shocked face, in her eyes that rang with disbelief and horror. "I-I'm sorry, Alex, I-I gotta go!" He whirled around and charged into the crowd, vanishing among the midst of people.

Alex tried to speak, her mouth formed the words, but no sound came out.

_No_ _one _could like someone like her. It was impossible. Was it simply because she was a girl or...

Did he honestly mean what he just did and said?

"...How..."

"Alex, are you alright?" Alex registered the voice as Kyoya's, but she was still too into shock to notice.

"Why did..."

"Alex?"

"...he do that?"

Alex snapped out of it, looking up at him with wide eyes, "Why did he just..."

"You heard the man," Kyoya spoke, not releasing the girl in case she might fall. She looked as though her legs would give out on her if she tried to stand. "he said he liked you."

"That's...That's _impossible_."

"And why is that, if you would be so kind as to tell?" Alex didn't answer, merely staying there in Kyoya's arms for a few moments longer before pushing herself away from him, stumbling as her legs shook. She felt light-headed, her legs felt like jello-she needed to sit down. "Alex? Alex-!" Her quickly caught the girl as she fell forwards, her head resting against his shoulder.

"I'm fine!" She argued, tears pricking her eyes as he held her. "I...I'm fine. I'm fine, see? Fine, fine, fine..."

"You can't even stand, so stop being a moron and getting yourself into even more trouble. Now, the rest of the Host Club, not counting Tamaki, are back in the large hall waiting room. Mori-Sempai and Honey-Sempai should be trying to locate Haruhi by now."

"I can walk..." She tried to push herself away, but Kyoya held on firmly.

"You'll only fall again. Come on, up we go." She squeaked and screamed slightly in alarm when her feet were removed from the ground, Kyoya picking her up bridal style.

"P-Put me_ down_!" Her voice squeaked slightly. He ignored her however as he walked through the crowd, calmly heading towards the large hall waiting room. "H-hey, set me down!"

"Not until you tell me why it's impossible for anyone to like you."

"Because it's impossible to like someone like _me_, that's why! Now set me down you jerk! Being a girl that just had her first kiss stolen, I have the absolute right to go into depression mode and sulk! I want to go in my corner and continue to grow mushrooms! Set me down!"

"No."

"Why not!? I answered your damn question!"

"Because we haven't arrived yet and if I set you down, you'll collapse." She slammed her right fist on his chest, albeit awkwardly because her left arm was against his chest.

"Lemme go!"

"No."

"Yes! And stop saying "no!"

Kyoya stopped replying, finding the argument completely ridiculous and childish.

"Don't give me that face! Stop it...I will beat you like a red-headed step-child mister!"

"...Liam." Alex froze, her right fist held high above her head. The pain in her chest increased slightly.

"Wh-What?" She looked at Kyoya with wide eyes, unsure of what to say. _He didn't say his name, he didn't say his name-_

"That's the boy you like, isn't it? The one who "Doesn't exist" anymore as you put it."

Alex grumbled, and if Kyoya hadn't been carrying her, he wouldn't have heard her, "More like _I _don't exist anymore...Stupid Akari, making a deal with that jerk and swapping places...I didn't want to die...Jerk."

She hated her, but didn't. It was complicated.

Kyoya almost sighed, but caught himself. Alex probably didn't think he heard her-but he still couldn't believe she was going on about that nonsense of being dead. She was clearly, very obviously, alive. He stopped at the door and looked down at her, raising an eyebrow, "Think you can walk?"

"Of course I can! Just set me down already, geesh!" The arm that held up Alex's legs slipped away and she shouted when her legs suddenly started to fall towards the ground. She reacted quickly, thinking she was going to fall, and wrapped her arms around Kyoya's neck, screaming as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. Kyoya's eyes widened a fraction, surprised at the response. "Are you afraid of heights, Alex?"

Alex pulled away, alarmed and even more alarmed when she noticed how close their faces were.

"Your face is red, are you developing feelings for me?" He smirked at her and Alex quickly removed herself from him, slapping him in the chest with her left hand, rather embarrassed.

"I am _not_! I don't like you, for the last time! God damn it, peoples, get your minds out of the gutter!" She huffed indignantly as she took a step forward, only to have her leg give out on her and send her tumbling.

"!" Kyoya said as he caught, placing an arm around her shoulders, "Honestly, you're more trouble than you're worth."

"Is that all you ever say?" That was like his catchphrase or something.

"Do you always have to have the last word in an argument?"

"Yes, yes I do. Now, let's go-You can let go now.."

"I think not, unless you want to kiss the floor again."

Alex snapped, "He kissed me, I didn't kiss him, so leave it already, okay!?" Her voice cracked slightly, "Let's just get this damn thing over with...I want to go home..." Kyoya looked at her with slight surprise before giving her shoulder a slight comforting squeeze.

"Come on, I'll keep you steady. Unless you'd rather be carried?"

"This is fine!" They entered the room to see Hikaru and Kaoru standing in there, Hikaru holding Haruhi's dress.

"We were wondering when you were going to show up," Kaoru commented, grinning.

"Nice to see you two finally got together." Alex snapped at him, tears pricking her eyes,

"We're not together _damn it_! I told you this already!" Today was just not her day.

"She merely is unable to stay standing by herself." Kyoya explained, heading over to a wall and leaning against it. He removed his arm from Alex and allowed her to slink to the floor, sitting next to where he was standing.

"I want to go home..." She groaned. Kyoya crossed his arms, a smirk adorning his face as Honey and Mori walked in, Haruhi slung over the taller one's shoulder.

"There she is!" Kaoru exclaimed. Haruhi blinked as Mori set her down gently, Honey bouncing up and down excitedly. She turned to glare at Kyoya and the Hitachiin brother's,

"You didn't have to be so forceful-!" Hikaru pushed the dress into her arms,

"Nevermind that, go get changed!"

"Yeah!" Honey agreed, smiling widely as he pushed Haruhi into the changing room. Kyoya looked at the Hitachiin brothers', a smirk making its way onto his face,

"A little "Accident" happening towards the end of the night would be quite thrilling." Alex lifted her head up and told them,

"Hikaru, make sure to eat a banana. "Good for potassium." She grinned as she quoted the Ninth Doctor. She attempted to stand by leaning against the wall, finally regaining some feeling back in her legs.

"Now remember, Haruhi, we have twenty minutes until we reach the party's climax." Kyoya informed, looking at his watch. "Suzushima is already waiting for you in the classroom across the hall."

Haruhi opened the curtain, revealing the light pink dress with the rose, and the long haired wig with bangs. Hikaru and Kaoru quickly set her down at a vanity and started to work on her makeup.

"You have to ask him how he feels!" Mitskuni informed her.

**"Uh-Alex, we know this was the strategy you came up with, but it's kind of unsettling." **

"Hey, at least it'll work!" Alex told them with a grin. The doors then slammed open and revealed an irritated Tamaki.

"Gentleman, Alex, here you all are! What are you doing!? The guests are waiting for-" He cut himself off when rose petals blew around the room, catching sight of a _beautiful _Haruhi. Hikaru and Kaoru grinned, moving over to Tamaki, and asked triumphantly,

**"So, whattya think?" **

"Wow, you look so cute!" Honey gushed as he stared at Haruhi, who walked in the heels awkwardly.

"Nice," Alex complimented with a grin.

"My face feels heavy and it's hard to walk in these shoes!" Haruhi complained as she walked down the hallway.

**"Good luck Haruhi!" **

"We believes in yous!" Alex called after her, along with the twins'. She could walk now.

"I-I can't believe..." Tamaki mumbled to himself, a blush on his face as he knelt in front of Kyoya, Alex, and Mori. Honey was next to him, while Hikaru and Kaoru resided in the front, "She's so pretty!"

Alex blinked when a realization hit her and snickered, placing a hand over her mouth. The Host Club looked at the girl curiously, confused. "I-I feel so sorry for Haruhi...The letter you two wrote-!" She burst out laughing before making her voice all girly and high-pitch, clasping her hands together as she gushed, "Oh, I want to rendezvous with you on Noah's Ark! I do, I do! The feelings I have for you are a like a rushing Typhoon of love! Oh~!"

Mitskuni giggled, Tamaki blinked, the corner of Kyoya's lips twitched upwards, and Hikaru and Kaoru grinned at her, asking as they placed their albows on her shoulder,

**"What? Think you can do better?" **

"Yes, yes I do, actually." She grinned, before pumping a fist in the air and moving away from teh brothers, "Now onto the dance floor, gentlemen! We have ladies and guys to impress!"

"I need to get the Princess," Tamaki spoke, standing once he was out of his "Haruhi is so cute" daze.

...

"Hey-Slow down already!" Alex exclaimed as Kyoya picked up the pace. One, two, three, One, two, three- "I can't dance that fast!"

"You'll be fine. Besides, I'm dancing at a natural speed; You're the one who's dancing slowly. And what did I say about looking at your feet?"

"Sorry!" Alex flinched and lifted her head, looking into Kyoya's eyes.

"And a natural turn-" Their feet moved over one another as they turned, Alex nearly tripping in the process.

_Dancing with Daichi was easier than this! At least he danced slowly! _

"Slide your foot forward like this," Kyoya slid his foot forward and Alex did the same, "Now, we repeat. One, two, three. One, two, three..." Alex felt her arm get grabbed by someone and found herself being pulled away from Kyoya. She blinked at Kaoru's grinning face,

"What?"

"And you said you two weren't dating."

"That's because we're not!" She argued, face flaring red from embarrassment.

"Suuuure...Hikaru, catch!" Kaoru quickly gripped Alex by the shoulders, spinning her around and pushing her forward, sending her slamming into Hikaru's chest. She retracted,

"Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean-!" Hikaru grabbed her hand and placed another on her waist, dancing almost instantly and pushing her backwards. "What the hell is going on-"

"I don't care what you say, Kaoru and I are still fully convinced that you and Sempai are together." He grinned cheekily at her, causing her frown and scoff,

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."

"I'll have you know that I have plenty of confidence in you!"

"Sure you do." Alex felt the collar of her dress get gripped from behind and found herself, yet again, being forcefully pulled away. "Whoa!" Her back crashed against a familiar chest and the familiar voice spoke,

"I'm afraid that I'll be taking this dance." Alex found herself whirled around again as Kyoya started to force her to dance, backing up then moving forward, turning, and going backwards again.

"Can you all _stop _dragging me back and forth? I already lost one arm, I don't need to lose my other. "

"You'll be fine," He replied easily, "The twenty minutes are almost up."

"What-So soon? How's that heck is that-You know what? Never mind, I don't want to know."

...

"10...9...8..." Kyoya glanced at his watch. "7...6..." Mori picked up his cousin as Honey pointed at the tree that was not lit, "5..." Hikaru and Kaoru filled with the tree's control. "4...3..." Alex grinned madly, leaning over the railing to glance at the tree, "2...1."

The tree's lights lit up the room, shining down on Suzushima and Kanako.

"Merry Christmas!" Tamaki declared loudly from one of the classrooms, "The last waltz of the night has been chosen for them!"

There was a silence in which everyone waited for Kanako to accept Suzushima's dance invitation. With a red face and teary eyes, she took his hands and they danced.

After a few moments of watching them dance, Tamaki sighed happily and outstretched his arms, "May this awkward couple be forever blessed!"

"And now we'll announce the Queen and King of the ball!" Hikaru announced, holding up a banana peel.

"Congratulations Princess Kanako Kasugazaki and Prince Tohru Suzushima!"

Alex blinked, realizing something. She backed up, gasped, and pointed dramatically at Tamaki, "When the hell did you and Haruhi get back!?"

"A few moments ago," Kyoya answered from behind her causing her to jump and look at him with wide eyes, "You should really pay more attention, you know?"

"Stop saying that!" She argued, glaring at his smirking face.

"And for the Queen's reward," Hikaru began again, not holding a banana peel. "A blessing kiss on the cheek from the King! And the Prince's reward is a kiss on the cheek from our favorite Hostess, Alex!"

"You ready?" Tamaki questioned with a smile.

"I hate my life..." Alex groaned, face-palming.

Kaoru spoke up, grinning, "Haruhi Fujioka will stand in for Tamaki!" Tamaki and Haruhi froze, causing Alex to laugh.

**"Kyoya-Sempai did say a little accident towards the end of the night would make the evening more thrilling for everyone!" **Hikaru and Kaoru said in there defense, smiling.

"There's no way I can kiss her," Haruhi deadpanned, while Alex look at the Host Club hopefully,

"Is there anyone who can replace me? Please?"

"If you do it we'll cut your debt by _one-third,_ Haruhi." Kyoya spoke, writing something in his book, "And Alex, if you don't kiss him, then I'll make sure Hikaru and Kaoru put you in that maid's costume." _  
_

"I really hate you sometimes."

"Sure you do."

Haruhi mumbled to herself, "Well, it _is _just a little peck on the cheek..."

Haruhi and Alex walked down the stairs, both reluctant to do this.

"Hey!" Mitskuni said thoughtfully, "You don't think this is Haru-Chan's or Lexi-Chan's first kiss, do you?"

"Alex already had hers with Daichi Yukimura." Kyoya informed, "I doubt Haruhi has though." Tamaki froze.

"What!?"

Alex quickly stood on her tip-toes and pecked him on the cheek, muttering with a red face, "There, merry Christmas, I did it..." And backed away, running up the stairs again to safety. Haruhi was...a bit slower. Tamaki ended up barging into Alex and sending her falling forwards as he ran down the steps, crying out,

"Wait, Haruhi-!" And tripped on a banana peel, causing him to fly and pushing Haruhi, causing her and Kanako to lip-lock with wide eyes.

Alex shouted as she stumbled, pushed by Tamaki, falling forwards and most likely going to crack her skull open-but _nooo_, this is a anime/manga and one of the main characters _can't _die. So therefore someone came to her rescue and caught her. Wanna take a guess?

"..."

"Thanks, Mori-Sempai..." Sasquatch quickly helped her stand and backed off, moving to stand next to his cousin while Alex went to stand next to Kyoya, who was pretty much her best friend in this dimension. "_Oooh_, Scandalous!" She tried to put on her best Viscount Druid voice.

She watched as Kanako and Haruhi pulled away from each other, faces bright red with their hands over their mouths. "I totally ship them," She laughed at her small joke. Who knows, there probably _was _ a fanfic out there about Karuki. Tamaki and Haruhi foevah!

"And before you know, that ship that sailed has crashed and you'd end up being injured once again." Alex looked up at Kyoya strangely, wondering just _where _the hell that came from.

"Um, dude...What the _hell _was with that? I'd question your sanity, but I don't think you got any left."

"Moron." She flinched when she felt his hand on her head, before relaxing as he ruffled her hair, "What I meant by that is that no matter what you do, you always ended up injuring yourself one way or another."

"O-Oh...I knew that." Kyoya had his arms crossed again with a smirk clear on his face. Clearly the accident turned out well. "By the way, nice jacket. Looks cool." He looked at her with slightly wide-eyes for a moment, surprised.


	9. Kitchen Sob-Fest and Management Day

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila. I don't own any anime or their chacraters. I only won Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler refrences.**

**January 12- 3:10 P.M.**

"A-Alex, what's wrong?" Nagihiko, a boy with spiky black hair and brown eyes asked worriedly, catching sight of the girl's tears.

"Why are you crying?" Kyohei questioned, frowning.

"I-It's nothing, really..." She whimpered, the tears stinging her eyes and threatening to fall down her face. She raised her light green kimono sleeve and rubbed her eyes childishly, too stubborn to tell.

"I don't like it when you cry..." Nagihiko admitted, a slight blush crossing his face. "Please tell us what's wrong..."

Alex sniffled slightly, bangs falling into her face. "I-I just...Well..." She mumbled quietly, diverting her gaze from the two boys, "I lost my sketchbook and they had all my drawings in there..."

"W-We can get you another sketchbook, Alex-Chan!"

"Y-Yeah!"

Alex looked up at them hopefully, feeling slightly guilty that her "Act" had her practically _conning _them, before deflating slightly, "That's nice of you but... I-I worked really hard on those-"

"Alex!" She blinked at Kyoya's voice and that was all it took for the tears to finally fall. She blinked again and sniffled, shoulders shaking slightly, as she turned her head to look at him. "Is this it?" Alex stood up from the tatami mat and blinked a few times, eyes widening. Kyoya was holding up a blue notebook that had doodles of random things on the cover. Alex felt as though her heart stopped for a moment-she seriously _had _lost her sketchbook and she didn't know what she was going to do; her drawings, are her _life_.

"Kyoya..." She began, taking a few steps towards him, "You have no idea how much I love you right now." She quickly ran over and knelt down beside him, taking the sketchbook and flipping through it and taking note of all the anime drawings that were in there, she felt massively relieved. She looked up at Kyoya for a few moments before asking, "...How bothered would you be if I hugged you right now?"

Kyoya, once again surprised by Alex, had his eyes widen a fraction before sighing, "Just get it over with."

She broke out into a mad grin before tackling Kyoya, wrapping her arms around his neck, "You are beautiful-you are gloriously beautiful!"

"I wanted to be hugged by Alex-Chan!" Kyohei whined. Nagihiko, who also had tears streaming down his cheeks, patted him comfortingly on the back, despite needing comfort himself.

"It'll be okay, Kyo, maybe next time we can get a hug from her!"

Alex grinned as she removed herself from Kyoya, apparently content by sitting next to him. She looked to see what he was writing and blinked, "Is that calligraphy?"

"Why, yes, it is."

"Haruhi!" Kurakano called, complimenting, "You look so cute in your kimono! Almost like a girl."

"Haruhi," Kyoya began, calling the brunette over. "I see you've booked another appointment. It seems you've been having a pretty steady flow of customers lately. Keep up the good work," He turned his head to look at her, his "Smile" showing, "I'm not going to charge interest on your debt like I usually would, but keep this up and you should be able to pay it off." He gave her a closed-eyes smile, purple flowers blooming around him, "Although the rental fee on that kimono you're wearing is nothing to sneeze at."

"Be nice," Alex scolded, whacking him on the arm gently. Kyoya looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, questioning her actions. "What? You were being mean."

"How so?"

"You were trying to scare 'er!" Alex jumped when two girls' appeared out of nowhere.

"Hello, Kyoya!" The first girl, the one with the wavy light brown hair and gray eyes greeted, smiling. The next was a girl with dark hair and onyx eyes, a blush on her face as she commented,

"I can't get over how great you look in that kimono!" Albeit, she didn't seem to pleased with Alex's presence, but she told her, "You look good in purple, Alex."

"Oh-Uh, thanks."

Girl number one asked, "Are you planning on releasing any new picture books of the Host Club?"

Kyoya gave them a closed-eye smile, his usual "Host smile", "Unfortunately, we don't have anything planned at the present, ladies."

Hikaru and Kaoru poked their heads over the...what was it called? Anyway, Hikaru questioned, "But Sempai, isn't that how the Host Club gets all the money?"

"By the sale of promotional items?" Kaoru added, confused. Alex blinked and lifted her head to look at them, Kyoya turning around and pulling out some photos,

"That's true, but the items are poor quality." He explained, showing very badly taken pictures, "The picture books are filled with nothing but hidden amateur picture shots." Alex looked over his shoulder, blinked, and frowned,

"Those suck. If you're going to take photos, at least try to make them look good."

Kyoya took out a calculator, typing in some numbers, saying, "However, If you want to make some higher quality money-making products, I'm afraid that we're going to have to draw money from the school's budget."

"Well, that's lovely." Alex muttered, "Can't we just all take poses while having someone take photos of us all?" Kyoya turned his head and blinked down at her,

"You..." She blinked, waiting for him to finish.

Haruhi sweatdropped and Alex could almost hear her thoughts. "If it weren't for you two...I'm sure the Host Club would spiral down into the deep depths of bankruptcy." Alex blinked and turned her, realizing that she _didn't _hear her thoughts, she thought them aloud.

_Okay then, a bit different than I expected. But I can live with it. I think. _"I still have my phone...Thankfully that didn't break when they hit me with the limo," She pulled it out and put in her passcode-A.K.A Her brother's birth year- and quickly went to camera. She grinned and held the phone, "Say "Bassy~!" and pressed the button, taking a picture of his surprised face. Kyoya blinked and watched as she looked at the picture, grinning, and then showed it to him, "See! Turned out pretty nice! You should've smiled though! You look better when you smile. Albeit if it's real and not a fake one."

Kyoya's face grew surprised once again-Alex seemed to have a bad habit of surprising him.

"Lexi-Chan, Haru-Chan!" The girls' both turned to look at Mitskuni, who was barefoot, holding up one of his sandals with one hand and used his other to rub at his teary eyes. Alex stood instantly, running over worriedly,

"Honey-Sempai, what's wrong?"

"I-I don't know how, but I lost one of my sandals!" Haruhi walked up then, asking confusedly,

"Well you were just wearing them, weren't you?"

"How's this," Alex began, placing a hand on his head and ruffling his hair as she smiled down gently at him, "Haruhi-Chan and I can go get Mori-Sempai, and then we'll all search for your sandal?" He looked up with wide, tear-filled eyes,

"R-Really?"

Mitskuni reminded Alex of her baby cousin, Brandon-who she thought of as a baby-brother. She was the youngest of four kids and always wanted a younger sibling-Alex adored kids. At least, until they start being rude and acting like a brat when they don't get what they want. But isn't that how most people feel?

"Mitskuni," Mori spoke up, walking over with Mitskuni's sandal. He knelt down on one knee, gently lifting up Mitskuni's leg and sliding his sandal on. "I noticed you dropped it."

Alex couldn't help it-while the girls' all squealed, Alex let out a loud _"Awwww!" _And hugged Haruhi, wrapping her arms around the girl's neck. Haruhi, more than used to Alex's clingy antics, sighed, but couldn't help the small smile that formed on her face at the scene.

"Takashi!" Mitskuni cried out, tackling and hugging the taller man around the neck.

"How sweet," A dark haired girl commented.

"Isn't it though?" A brunette questioned.

"Looks like tears are popular with the guests' today." Haruhi commented, stress lines forming. "You can head back over to Kyoya-Sempai now, Alex."

Alex pouted, not wanting to let go of the only other female-Host in the club, but relented and headed back over to Kyoya, sitting down and grabbing her sketchbook, drawing.

"Not a woman alive could resist a man on the brink of tears!" Alex heard Hikaru comment and snorted, crying out as she waved her hand in the air,

"I could!"

"H-Hey, Alexis..." Alex froze and the aura surrounding Kyoya seemed to darken. She turned her head to look at the newcomer, greeting awkwardly,

"H-Hey, Daichi...What's up?"

"W-Well, I just wanted to apologize..." He got down on his knees, bowing his head, "I-I didn't mean anger you or anything..." He cast a nervous glance to Kyoya, whose eyes were hidden behind spectacles. The dark purple aura surrounding the completely oblivious Alex and the silent aura did not relent, sending chills down the boy's spine. "I-I just wanted you to know how much I liked you and, well, I'm sorry...I should've known that you would've rejected me. Will you forgive me?"

Alex didn't know how to react. Her brown eyes went wide with shock, frozen to the spot. "Uh, sure?"

He looked up hopefully, brown eyes apologetic and sad, "Can-Can we we still be friends?"

Alex nodded numbly, feeling an odd sense of deja vu, "Yeah...Sure." She shrugged as though she didn't care, "I don't see why not."

Daichi's head shot up, a smile spreading across his face, "Really!? Thank you so much-! I-I won't screw this up this time, I promise!" He stood and made to walk out, but paused and turned his head, giving her a charming smile, "By the way, Alex, I think you look really good in that kimono. Purple and green really suit you." He chuckled and walked off, leaving Alex staring blankly after him.

It wasn't until after he was gone that Alex mumbled to herself, "Oh...Uh, thanks?"

"He has some nerve." Kyoya muttered quietly to himself, but Alex caught it. She looked at him surprised, yet confused.

"What do you mean?" He looked up at her and shook his head,

"Even after that stunt her pulled he still had the guts to confront you. Either he's brave, or a complete idiot."

Alex blinked. "You...Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head of yours, but then again, I don't really want to know."

...Somehow, in some way or another, the Host Club members all ended up bunched together. Alex blinked when she caught sight of Renge...Houshakuji?

_Holy shit, are we already on that episode? _Alex thought to herself, eyes widening. She then felt like a complete idiot. The tears, the missing sandal-of _course! _

"Hey, I'm Alex, nice to meet you, Miss!" Alex greeted with a wide smile, walking up to Renge. She was hiding by the doors, hesitant and shy, "Would-Would you like to come in? I'm sure one of my friend's would like to talk to you!"

She blinked when Hikaru and Kaoru pushed her away, holding orange and blue roses up to the girl.

"C'mon in," Kaoru greeted first, for once. "What are you waiting for?"

Hikaru smirked as he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, leaning close to him, "Watching from afar is never fun."

**"Please, miss." **They leaned in closer to the girl, causing her to gasp and back up. _I almost pity Renge... _

"Stop that," Tamaki ordered, holding up a white rose. "How many times have I told you boys' to be more courteous to our first-time guests?" Tamaki had white roses bloom around him and he leaned towards the girl, gently telling her, "Please, you don't have to be afraid," He placed a finger under her chin, "My Princess." He smiled charmingly at her. "I welcome you to the Ouran Host Club."

Alex sulked at her spot next to Kyoya, "I can't believe-how rude! I was just trying to be nice!" She felt Kyoya's hand on her head and pouted childishly, slightly annoyed at being treated like a kid. Though, a part of Alex...kind of liked having her head pat like that.

"There, there..." He told her, sounding like he could really care less.

...(Please forgive, but my computer restarted without telling and it ticked me off, so, Time SKip. It wasn't all that interesting, other than the fact Alex felt slightly irritated at Renge hugging Kyoya.)

"Your fiance!?" Hikaru exclaimed, eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

Kaoru blinked, eyes widening, "Uh-Kyoya-Sempai?" He questioned uncertain.

"Of course," Renge replied with a smile on her face, hands clasped together and resting on her lap. "My name is Renge Houshakuji and I'm transferring into Ouran's Class 1-A tomorrow."

"Why are they sulking?" Hikaru questioned, looking at Tamaki and Alex's little "Corners of Woe".

"Because "Mommy" was keeping a secret from both "Daddy" and "Sissy"." Kaoru explained in a slight mocking tone.

"Whatever. Why does everyone keep on referring to us as "Husband" and "Wife" with you all as our "Children"?" Kyoya inquired, slightly irritated.

ALex was more upset at the thought of being replaced than anything, but nonetheless, she got up and strode over to Haruhi, wrapping her arms around the female in a loose hug. Haruhi sighed and returned the gesture, placing her hands on the girl's arms.

Renge started to rant, "Ours was a story of love at first sight! I couldn't resist the way you look at those flowers in the backyard when you thought no one else was looking! And how sweet it was when you reached out to that poor, injured, little kitten!"

**"Is she serious?" **Hikaru and Kaoru questioned, while Alex lifted her head and stared at the woman with a raised eyebrow. She then turned her head to look at Kyoya, who had his arms crossed with his eyes hiding behind his glasses.

"I've only known Kyoya for a few months and even _I _know that isn't something he would do."

"Could you have the wrong person?" Haruhi questioned kindly, only to have Renge get right up in her face. Alex released Haruhi from surprise, stumbling and falling backwards, landing on her butt.

"No way, I could recognize my love anywhere! He's kind to everyone and doesn't ask for _anything _in return!"

Alex burst out laughing at that, rolling on the floor in laughter. Kyoya was the exact _opposite_. Hikaru and Kaoru ran around Kyoya, screaming for her to stop and demand who she got him confused with. Even Mori had a confused face, while Mitskuni had stress lines forming. "He loved the solitude, but actually hates teh loneliness!" Alex only laughed harder, "He looks like the main star of the ultimate dating sim game, Uki-Doki Memorial!" She pointed at Kyoya, Alex practically losing air at this point, "You're my real-life Ichijo Miyabi!"

"O-Oh my god! I can't-I can't breathe!" Alex pounded her fists on the floor, _dying_. "I-I have a thing for dating sims and anime characters too, but even-even-even _I _don't go so far as to-as too mistake someone as a fictional _character!_" She gasped for breathe, pretty much cutting off her entire oxygen supply when she spoke.

"Uki?" Haruhi question confused.

"Doki?" Mitskuni blinked, also confused.

"OTAKU!" Tamaki screeched, frightened as he got out of his corner of woe.

"OTAKU!?" Hikaru questioned, screaming as he grew alarmed.

"..." Mori had question marks above his head and a blank face.

"I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE!" Kaoru screeched. Alex stopped laughing and stood up, wobbling slightly from light-headedness, and spoke,

"I'll have you know that _I _happen to be an Otaku, thank you very much!"

"ANOTHER OTAKU!?" Tamaki squealed like a girl who just saw a bug on her dress.

"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!" Hikaru shouted, pressing his hands to his face and making him look like a fish. Alex sweatdropped at their reactions.

"WE'VE HAD ONE IN OUR MIDST THIS ENTIRE TIME!" Kaoru screamed, falling to his knees in depression.

Kyoya, who somehow found time to sit back down on the couch with his legs crossed, spoke in realization, "I get it now. You're in love with that character, projected that love onto me, and you somehow deluded yourself into thinking that we're engaged."

Alex was over there before you could even blink, clinging to the back of the couch as she question-confused at the amount of relief she was feeling at the moment-"Wait, seriously? You realize I was joking when I said that she though you were a fictional character!" Alex groaned, face-palm as she fell to her knees, one hand still clinging to the back of the couch, "My god, even I'm not that _obsessed _with it...Though I will say that I make one _hell _of a Hostess." She giggled at her reference. "And to answer your question Kyoya, yes, the character she's talking about wears glasses. And, if you dye your hair brown and make it slightly wavy, and get light brown contacts, you'd look dead-on like him. " Alex stood up, finding her and Kyoya surrounding by the rest of the Host Club.

"So...She made it up?" Tamaki questioned, confused. "You're not really her fiance, right?"

"Well no, I don't ever remember asking for her hand in marriage." Kyoya replied, pushing up his glasses. He crossed his arms, and what he said next made Alex burst out laughing again, "And besides, this is the first time I ever met the woman." The _way _he said it though!

Hikaru and Kaoru gained stress marks on their faces, **"You could've said so sooner!" **They were so stressed for nothing!

"From what I understand from my research is that you're the manager of this club, is that right, Kyoya?" Renge questioned, placing herself on the couch next to Kyoya, leaning in close to him with hearts in her eyes.

"That's right," Mitskuni informed her, smiling. "Kyo-Chan is our Director!" Alex, tired of standing, sat down next to Kyoya on his right, her left.

"And if it weren't for him, I'm fairly certain that the Host Club would have been bankrupt long, long ago." Kyoya seemed to smirk at that.

Renge's voice seemed to go up a pitch when she asked, "You're the Club's director? That's _perfect! _Oh, wow! I've always wanted to wear a sandwich board to advertise a business!"

Hikaru and Kaoru deadpanned, annoyed with the crazy lunatic of a woman, **"We don't advertise, we're just a Host Club." **

"I made up my mind!" Renge declared as she twirled, "From now on, I'm gonna be the Manager of this Host Club!"

Alex poked Kyoya in the arm, "Hey, Kyoya, can you-"

Tamaki seemed to have the same thoughts on Renge, starting to ask the same question, but both were cut off by the man with a smirk,

"Ms. Houshakuji is the only daughter of a very important Ootori client. So please be polite and try not offend her, alright?"

Tamaki gave up all hopes on Kyoya and face-planted into the back of the couch. Alex groaned and slouched, sliding off the couch cushions and landing on her knees on the floor. "I _really _hate you sometimes..."

"That's what you think," Kyoya replied, pushing up his glasses with a smirk.

Renge clasped her hands in front of her and she stood at a spot where she could see the entire Host Club, "Well boys, and girl," She added once she caught sight of Alex. "I can't wait to work with you!" She smiled at them.

Tamaki stood and sighed, walking over and lifting Alex up by the collar of her Uniform, and dragging her over to Haruhi, "Well, as you all heard." Tamaki placed Alex on her feet and both girls' blinked and they felt Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki's hands on their shoulders. They both froze,

**"Haruhi, Alex." **Both girls' were scared and for different reasons. Haruhi knew that she was going to be left to fend off Renge, while ALex knew she was going to help bake...

_I only how to cook basic stuff! I never made cookies in my life! _She cried mentally, watching with wide eyes as they ran off.

"THIS IS PART OF YOU HOST CLUB TRAINING! ONLY THIS ONCE SHALL FATHER BE COLD-HEARTED!"

Alex and Haruhi both screamed, Alex pointing at them angrily, "TRAITORS! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!"

"HEY-!" Haruhi shouted indignantly. Alex turned to Kyoya hopefully,

"Kyoya-!"

"If anything goes wrong, Alex, Haruhi's debt will be doubled and you _will _be forced to be the Host Club's maid for a week-so yes, you will have to wear the dress Hikaru and Kaoru made." Both girls' turned to stone. Why does he keep using those things against them-!?

"Haruhi, Haruhi!" Renge called, stirring up a bowl of mix, "Should I put in more cream?"

"Ah, yes, how's the chocolate going?" Haruhi turned her gaze to Alex, who was currently rolling up balls of chocolate chip cookie dough.

Alex blinked and looked up, brown hair pulled back in a low-pony with a blue headband to keep away most of her bangs. Her blue blazer was off, and instead she wore a blue apron that made her look strangely reminiscent of a brunette "Alice". She turned her head to look behind her and gasped,

"Renge-what the hell're you doing!? Even I know not to use the direct flame!" She ran forward and quickly turned the stove off, grabbing the pot handle and putting it onto a cool burner. "Jesus, woman, you're almost as bad as I am!"

Renge smiled sheepishly, "Hehe...I'm sorry, I just never really cooked anything in my life before." Alex blinked at her before sighing, resisting the urge to run a hand through her hair.

"It's fine...I don't know how to cook all that well either-I only know the basics from what my brother taught me and from when my Mom let me help with the baking. I can only cook simple things, like grilled cheeses or hamburgers. Even macaroni."

"Eh, your brother sounds amazing! He can really cook!?" Even Haruhi seemed interested; she listened closely after she put the ginger cookie batch into the oven. "Do you think we can meet him sometime?"

"What's his name?" Haruhi questioned curiously, going to fix the "Heated" chocolate mishap. Alex gained a small, sad, reminiscent smile as she answered,

"Drake. His name was Drake. Jason Drake Connors! But he had a friend named Jason, so we all called him Drake. Plus, he liked that name better. He was the nicest guy you'd ever meet! And one of the coolest, and funniest! He was really tall and had blue eyes, but he had brown hair like me! And he also wore glasses, too! He usually slicked his hair back by wearing a hat, typically a green one with an image of the Joker on it, and he was really, really funny! He was also the most "Normal" out of my family. We were all a bunch of nutjobs!" As Alex started to explain excitedly, she started to place the cookie dough onto the pans. "But Drake, he was hilarious-if you played music, he would start dancing out of nowhere and-and," Her voice started to crack slightly, "and when he and my second eldest sister, Marie was there, they'd be the goofiest duo ever! They-They made me laughs so hard once and it felt like I was going to die. Marie and I didn't really get-well, she didn't get along with me. People were always comparing us, saying how much we looked alike, and saying how I catching up in the art section just as well as her...She didn't like it and started to hate me, but not long after I turned thirteen did she start to be nice again! And then-And then Briana...Well, she loved to sew...She used to make lots of clothes-she usually makes her own, if she has the money and fabric..."

She trailed off and Haruhi noticed that she kept using the words "Were" and "Had been" and "Used to be". Were they...? Haruhi frowned, knowing how her friend must feel if her family surely was dead.

"I wonder how they're all doing over there..." She shook her head, tears stinging her eyes as the numbing pain grew in her chest, "A-Anyway, my dad was a major history freak and whenever he found something interesting of "Educational" he'd make me get off of my laptop, stop me from isolating myself in my room, and drag me outside into the living room and plop right down on the couch to watch or read it! And My step mom, she was from Mexico by the way, was really nice! Her name was Aida and she was like a second-mother to me, even though I never really got to call her Mom..." She frowned, saddened suddenly, "It...didn't feel right, when my birth mother was alive and-and all..." She swallowed the lump in her throat and picked up the pain, moving over to one of the ovens and opening them, placing the cookie batch inside and turning on the oven. "And my mom, she was nurse...I look a lot like her, though I got my head shape from my dad...She made the best meals," She felt the tears start to fall, "and was always trying to do what was best for the four of us...I guess Briana and Marie would be done with college by now and-and Drake would probably be in his second year of college..."

"Alex..." Haruhi's gaze softened, "I-I'm sorry, I know how you feel." Alex looked up at her with wide eyes and stared at her for a moment and shook her head,

"It's not your fault, Haruhi. It's fine-I-It's life, after all." _Haruhi probably think that they're all dead...They might as well be, considering it's physically impossible for me to ever see them again. _"I'm used to it."

"...My mother died when I was little, ten years ago." Haruhi explained, opening the oven her batch was in. "I missed her, a lot, and I stopped eating for a while, the pain was intense. My chest ached-it felt like something was squeezing tightly and it wouldn't let go. My mother...She was a lawyer. She was amazing." Haruhi smiled at the memory of her, "She was an amazing cook too; she used to let me cook with her and make dinner...And when she became hospitalized, she gave me a whole bunch of recipes. It was really nice to try them all out, especially when they came out right. But my mother... To me, there was no way there was someone else like her out in the world. And there isn't. There was only one of her out there, and she's up there, in heaven, now."

Alex instantly felt saddened for Haruhi, the tears falling more steadily now. They were silent tears, Alex refusing to cry loudly, and she spoke softly, "I'm sorry..." Alex knew how she felt-in a way, considering she could never see her family ever again. "Haruhi, I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be, Alex. Like you said, "It's not your fault." Alex was surprised at the smile Haruhi gave her. There was no pain, there was no sadness. Just hope that her mother was happy where she was now. There were multiple dings and Haruhi blinked in surprise, "Heh, I think the cookies are done."

Renge was left standing there with tears in her eyes from the girls' stories. An only child with no mother, only a father to raise her, and an orphan with no family to love or care for her-the pain still fresh and new... "I-I..." Renge didn't know what to say. What _could _she say to that?

"Renge, how are your cookies turning out?" Renge jumped; during the whole sob-story fest she completely forgotten about them. "Ah! My cookies!" She ran over and opened the oven, crying out in alarm when she saw the slight-burnt cookies. She reached out to grab the pan, but Alex ran over and caught her wrists before she could burn her fingers,

"Moron, what the hell're you tryin' to do!? Don't be such an idiot! Next time use oven mitts or at least a rag or something! Don't go and burn yourself!" Renge looked up with wide eyes at Alex's scolding, "The closest thing we have here to a Doctor is Kyoya and even then I'm sure he doesn't even have the medical expertise to treat a burn as bad as the one you almost got! Be more careful; Okay?" Alex's face had softened considerably by then, "I don't want you to get burnt. My mother got burns on her back from a fire once, and they let scars. I don't want that to happen to you. Here, take the stupid things." She shoved a pair of oven mitts into Renge's hands, inhaling deeply as she walked away, before sighing.

_I hate my life. Full of shenanigans-Oh! Beautiful word, that is. Shenanigans. _"Shenanigans," Alex giggled to herself.

Alex heard talking outside and-sobbing? Who the hell was crying? She walked over to the door and opened, blinking at the sobbing messes of Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Mitskuni. "Uh-are you guys okay?"

"They'll be fine, Alex." Kyoya spoke and Alex shrieked in surprise when Mitskuni launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around her waist,

"I'm so sorry, Lexi-Chan! I had no idea that-that your family was-! WAAAAHHHH!" He went into another volley of tears. Alex tensed, alarmed. They...They _heard_!? Oh, shit... Now they're gonna dub her as the crazy lady since in this dimension she was supposed to be "Akari Ayuzawa" and not Alex Connors! Damn it...

"It's such a tragic life story!" Tamaki wailed, hugging her right leg, "Daddy will never leave you, Alex!" Her face flared red at all the attention she was getting and she tried to run back into the kitchen, but Hikaru and Kaoru had grabbed her arms,

**"We had no idea that was what happened-!" **

"L-let go! Mori-Sempai, Kyoya-Sempai, help me!"

"Release her." Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru all let go reluctantly, while Mori reached over and plucked Mitskuni off of Alex.

"Thank you!" Renge suddenly appeared at the door and growled,

"You're too noisey, Phony King."


	10. Video Shoot and Fight

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila. I don't own any anime or their chacraters. I only won Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler refrences.**

**January 12- 3:45 P.M.**

Tamaki went to go sulk in a corner after that. Renge quickly grew hearts around her as she approached Kyoya, a basket of her burnt cookies in hand.

"I'm sorry I burnt them a little," She apologized, pressing a hand up to her face, embarrassed, "but I did the best I could! It was my first time cooking anything, So I was a little scared...Oh, but I already know what you're going to say! "Anything you make is going to taste delicious, of course!" She squealed as she entered fantasy land.

"She wasn't kidding," Mitskuni began, nibbling on a cookie, "These cookies really _are _burnt!"

Mori approached, face still sour from eating a burnt cookie, and said with alarm, "Don't eat that Mitskuni, it's bad for you!"

"What is this-a rock?" Kaoru deadpanned, sticking his tongue as he tried to get rid of the nasty taste. Renge grew snakes in her air and red eyes, screaming as she chased after Mori, who picked up Mitskuni.

"WAAAAHHHH! SHE'S SCARING ME!" Mitskuni cried loudly as Mori ran. Alex and Haruhi sweatdropped as they left the kitchen, carrying their own batches of cookies.

"Mine went pretty well," Haruhi muttered to herself as she bit into her ginger cookie, "Granted I have made sweets in a while..."

"Mine are alright, I guess..." Alex mumbled, biting into one of her chocolate chip cookies, "I mean, they're not burnt or anything and they taste okay..." She blinked and looked up, walking over and asking Kyoya, "Remind me again why we're letting Renge rampage over the Host Club?"

Kyoya, who crossed his arms, spoke, "I already told you; She's the daughter of an important Ootori Group client-"

"I got _that _much." She raised the basket up to him, "Cookie? They're not burnt or anything." Kyoya blinked down at her, one of the only three wise people who chose not to eat Renge's cookies, and grabbed one, biting into it.

She looked up at him, anticipation growing, "W-Well, how is it? I never really actually baked anything before..."

"It's not terrible, I'll give you that." Alex pouted childishly, not liking that response.

"That tells me nothing!" She flinched when she saw his hand come towards her face, but relaxed when it rested on her head.

"Would it make you feel better if I said it had a good flavor?" Alex nodded,

"Yes, yes it would."

"Then there you go." Alex blinked when she felt someone grab her arm and pull her backwards, causing her to rest partly on a shoulder and partly on a chest. She turned her head to see Kaoru grinning at her,

"Uh-oh, Alex...Looks like you got some chocolate on your face." Alex's eyes went wide in alarm when Kaoru leaned in with a smirk and _licked _the corner of her mouth, ridding her face of the chocolate. Alex's face flushed bright red and she stood still, frozen. Kaoru licked his lips, smirking, "Not bad...Can I try one?" He reached down and plucked a cookie out of the basket, completely oblivious to the dark aura behind him.

"And suddenly the group of classmates are close than before..." Kyoya spoke, a dark purple aura surrounding him, but his outside facade remained indifferent. Kaoru and Hikaru high-fived each other.

"Wh-What-What the-What the hell was _that for_!?" Alex's voice squeaked loudly as she looked at Kaoru with wide eyes.

"Hikaru, if you wanted one you could've just grabbed one. And Kaoru, you could have just _told _Alex and she would've grabbed a napkin or something."

Haruhi barely had time to blink before Tamaki had grabbed her face with his hands and started to screech, "WRONG! YOUR REACTION IS ALL WRONG! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO STAY STRONG AND REJECT THEM AND CASUALLY BRUSH THEM TO THE SIDE; DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?"

"This is sexual harassment, Sempai." Haruhi deadpanned, stress lines forming on her face.

"I have been tainted by the vile creature of light!" Alex screeched, dropping to her knees as she used her uniform sleeve to try and wipe away all "Kaoru germs".

"IF THAT COUNTS AS SEXUAL HARASSMENT THAT THEY'RE _TWICE _AS GUILTY! SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE!"

"Dude, calm down!" Alex cried out, standing up and trying to separate Haruhi and Tamaki, "They're just being weirdos!"

**"Hey, look whose talking, Alex!" **Hikaru and Kaoru fired back, not liking the insult. Alex glared at them and shouted,

"Well, you are! Who one earth just goes up and _licks _someone's cheek!?"

"I was getting the chocolate off of your face," Kaoru said in his defense.

"Plus, I wanted to see Sempais' get jealous." Hikaru added, shrugging with his arms in the air. Alex raised an eyebrow at that, and shouted once she finally pulled Haruhi away from Tamaki,

"My Haruhi! Back off!" She held onto Haruhi tightly, who just acting like a poor ragdoll, and looked at Hikaru and Kaoru, demanding, "And what the hell do you mean by "Sempais'" Who other than Tamaki are you trying to make jealous?" _I swear to god, if they say Kyoya, I'm gonna punch something._

**"Kyoya-"**

"For the last time, _we're not together!"_

"EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, EXCEPT KYOYA, ALL YOUR CHARACTERS ARE LUKE WARM!" Renge screeched, pointing at them. The Host Club blinked, surprised. "Each one of you need to have some sort of "Dark" side, do you understand!? Girls' are attracted to handsome young men with a vulnerable side! Keep this up and it's only a matter of time before all the girls' get fed up and leave! And you, as the only girl here, need to have a mysterious side that _attracts _the men here! Every guy loves a girl with a little bit of mystery, but if you don't have that-no guy is going to look _twice _at you! Are you all trying to ruing my precious Kyoya's business!?"

"As your manager," Renge continued, "It's my job to change your character backgrounds! Let's start with you!" SHe pointed at Mitskuni, who screamed and cried, clinging onto Mori for dear life. "If you're as cute as you are inside and out, then you're no different than a baby! From now on, you are now the Baby-Faced Thug!" Mitskuni screamed, not liking his new role. "And Mori-Sempai? Your his child-hood friend; The Flunkie. The twins' will be basketball players enslaved in their own worlds! Alex, you're an orphan whose often bullied for her looks! You have a fear of being forgotten and hated by everyone, and wish that someone could be ending the pain that you feel! Haruhi, You're an honor-student whose constantly being bullied, Alex's one and only true friend! And as for you, Tamaki," She looked at the blonde with a hand on her hip, "You're the school's idol and admired by everyone for your looks, but you actually have an inferiority complex that you're hiding from the world! The Lonely Prince!"

Renge then turned to look at a "Smiling" Kyoya, pressing her hands against her face as she squealed, "Oh, and you Kyoya? Well, you're just perfect the way you are now! So I want you to stay as kind and affectionate as ever!" Alex almost laughed at that,

"Yeah...Kind...Affectionate...as ever-yeaaahhh...That's not him." She shook her head, slouching, "I just can't see it." He pressed a hand against his chest with a "Smile", saying,

"Thank you, I'm honored." Alex felt slightly annoyed at there interaction, but couldn't figure out why. _I know for a fact that I don't like him...so why is something as small as this bothering me? _Ever since Renge arrived, she's been at Kyoya's side practically 24/7. Alex..._She's replacing me, huh? Makes sense, I guess...Not like anyone would even want me around, _She sighed and shook her head, running a hand through her really thick and really messy brown hair.

Before Alex knew what she was doing, she walked over and gripped Kyoya's right sleeve, frowning as she looked up at him. He blinked down at her-if he was confused by his actions, he didn't show it. Hikaru and Kaoru quickly ran over and joined Alex in the "Get Kyoya to do something about Renge" club as they grabbed Kyoya's shoulders.

"C'mon, Kyoya-Sempai!"

"Do something!"

"Renge's insane!" Alex added. Kyoya blinked and questioned,

"Why? It seems the boss is up for it." With his only free hand, he pointed towards where Tamaki was, acting out his "Lonely Prince" role.

"What do you think, Renge?" Tamaki questioned, striking up lonely poses on the spot, "Do you think these poses...work for a lonely Prince?"

Renge squealed, "Oh, wow, you're pretty good at that, Tamaki! But you know, it would be even more effective if you were standing in the rain!"

Alex loosened her grip on Kyoya, stress lines forming down the side of her face, "Oh, dear god...We're all screwed! I don't care if it's for profit, I'm not acting out that role!" She grumbled to herself, releasing her grip on Kyoya and walking away as she thought, _It's almost as bad as being replaced._

She felt Kyoya's large hand clamp itself on her shoulder, forcing her to stop walking. She turned her head and looked up to see his smirk, a hand on his chin, "Why don't we wait and see how things turn out? I bet it'll be interesting. It always is."

While everyone else backed up, thinking he looked "Scary", Alex merely stayed where she was, sweatdropping.

"I would question your sanity, but in all honesty, I don't think you have any left to even question."

...

**"Your pain is my pain," **Renge narrated with a mircophone, **"It doesn't matter if no one else understands. As long as we have each other we can go on living."**

The scene switched to the courtyard, rain pouring down onto Tamaki whose clothes clung to him. His golden bangs fell into his eyes, envy rushing through his veins at the sight of Hikaru and Kaoru. He smiled bitterly, "I'm sorry...But I'm envious of you two. The way you support each other like that..."

"But, Suoh-Sempai-!" Hikaru exclaimed, unable to believe what he was hearing. Kaoru finished his brother's question,

"How can you be envious of _us_?" His tone was shocked, "You're the school's _idol_."

"An idol?" Tamaki questioned, bitterness clinging to his voice as he ran a hand through his bangs, "Right...I hate it when people idolize me for something so superficial such as appearance..." He removed his hand and let it hang at his side, loneliness forming inside. He reached his hands up and placed them on his chest, leaning his head back as he let his tears melt away in disguise of the rain, "I think it'll be much better, if I am left alone..."

**"One lonely heart meets another-they pass each other."**

Alex walked onto the scene, her dark brown hair turned black from the rain and clinging to her face. Bruises lined her arms, along with multiple bandages. She clung to her books desperately, fearful as though someone would try to take them away. She looked nervously behind her, feeling as though someone would attack her. She was so busy looking behind her, that she didn't notice it when she walked straight into Tamaki. She shouted in alarm as she tumbled backwards and landed on her butt, her books sprawling everywhere onto the soaked sidewalk.

She stuttered, flinching when she thought he was going to hit her, "I-I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean too..." She quickly got up on her knees and started to grab her books hurriedly.

"Are you alright?" She flinched at the hand that made itself known, outstretching itself for her to take.

"I-I'm fine," Clearly not going to take his hand, Tamaki grabbed hers and pulled her to her feet, causing her to stumble and quickly regain her balance. He caught sight of the bruises and bandages and frowned. They were obviously not self-inflicted. "I-I gotta go, my-my friend is waiting for me." Tamaki watched as she ran away, only to see a girl with dark hair pulled up in a bun reach a foot out and trip her.

"An Ugly girl like you should just go rot in hell."

**"They _wound _one another." **A scene of Haruhi running in the rain, breathing heavily as she reached a tree, leaning against it and falling to her knees. **"What are the hearts of these young people made of?"**

"You can't run away forever," Mitskuni spoke, approaching Haruhi with a dark look in his eyes. A cruel grin formed on his once adorable face as he held his hands in his pockets. Haruhi looked up with wide eyes, losing hope. "I'm gonna show you what happens to _anyone _that crosses me."

"Haruhi-!" Alex cried out, running out from the woods and towards the defeated girl. "No! I won't let you hurt him!" She knelt down in front of Haruhi, fearful, but brave. "H-He's my best friend..."

"Didn't I tell you before to not get on my bad side?" Mitskuni asked her coldly, narrowing his eyes. He took a step forward, causing both victims to shrink back.

"Don't do it, Mitskuni." Mori warned, his deep voice somehow comforting in the cold rain. "You should have realized by now that by hurting others, you're only injuring yourself."

"I didn't ask you for advice," Mitskuni growled, bangs covering his face. A dark shadow grew across it. "Do you want me to punish you again?"

**"Will it be the light of salvation that ultimately awaits them all? Or will it be something else?**

Mitskuni looked up, honey brown eyes dark and cold. He smirked, "You know, it really pisses me off when people don't know their place."

There was a tense silence as everyone awaited the inevitable.

Mitskuni's face grew red as tears streamed down his face, crying out and lunging forward, tackling both Haruhi and Alex in a hug. The rain eventually stopped when Mitskuni cried out, "I'M SO SORRY, LEXI-CHAN, HARU-CHAN, I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMOOOOORE!"

"CUUUUUT," Renge started to scream, hair turning into snakes again. "CUT, CUT, CUT!" She was pissed. She glared at Mitskuni, throwing a tantrum, "What's wrong with you!? You gotta stick to the script!"

"I can't!" Mitskuni argued, refusing to remove his arms from the girls'. Renge pointed at the camera man, ordering,

"Cameraman, stop filming!"

"Yes, ma'am!" He turned the camera off. "I want the rain to make things seem tragic!" Alex, while Renge started to scream and yell at Mitskuni and the camera crew, snuck off towards Hikaru and Kaoru, who were lunging in chairs and talking to Kyoya.

"How'd we go from changing our characters to shooting a movie about them?" Hikaru asked confused. Haruhi walked away too, a towel around her neck,

"And why is there an entire film crew here to shoot it?" Kyoya looked up with a smirk,

"Apparently she flew them in from Hollywood. Don't you recognize the director?" Alex deadpanned as she looked at the old guy,

"Uh, no. Never heard, nor seen him before." Kyoya explained,

"He director the vampire movie "Millennial Snow." He said, as if that would help. Alex shook her head,

"Nope, never seen it."

"It was the number one box-office hit across _America _last year." Alex blinked and looked at them in confusion,

"Still never heard of it."

"And another thing," Hikaru began, irritated, "How come this _stupid _script portrays Kaoru as the pitcher?"

"Yeah, what's with that?" Kaoru wondered, watching as his brother smacked the script angrily.

Haruhi blinked, "What does that mean?"

"If you don't like it Hikaru, then change the position of your bangs and act like Kaoru. Then you can be the Uke and Kaoru can be the Seme." Haruhi blinked at her in confusion,

"Alex, what're you talking about?"

Hikaru, Kaoru, and Kyoya all stared at Alex for a moment before the twins spoke, shaking their heads, **"If you don't know, Haruhi, then never mind." **She blinked, still confused.

Tamaki called for Haruhi and she walked over, leaving Alex alone with the three guys.

"Alex, have you grabbed one of the towels?" Kaoru questioned, frowning when he noticed she was still sopping wet. Question marks appeared above her head as she questioned,

"Towels...?" Kaoru sighed and shook his head, sweatdropping. He then stood and Alex blinked in confusion, "What're you-"

"Here, I'm done drying myself anyway." She took his towel in confusion, but nodded.

"Um, okay. Th-Thanks, I think..." She stared at the towel in confusion for a brief moment, before attempting to dry her hair. Her arms grew tired quickly and she merely wrapped the towel around her neck-her dark hair curling slightly. She froze when she remembered something. _Renge angers one of crew members and they throw her...into Haruhi and into equipment, right? _Her eyes widened and she whirled her head around alarmed.

"Haruhi~!" Renge called. Alex seemed to freeze at that.

"Alex, is something the matter?" Kyoya questioned, raising an eyebrow.

**"You're acting strange." **The Twins' commented. She looked at them for a brief moment, hesitating.

"I-I'm fine...Just...remembered something is all." They opened their mouths as if to ask what she remembered, but Alex was already walking away quickly. _Need to hurry, need to hurry, need to hurry-My being here could've changed something. I don't know how it'll turn out anymore! Everything seems to be a mix of the manga and the anime and the year isn't even 2008-the year when the anime was made. It's still 2014! Haruhi, Renge, don't do anything stupid and wait for me. _Alex grew closer to the scene.

"Just come over here and wait for your queue~!" Renge directed from just around the corner. Alex's steps grew more hurried. She paused once she was in full view. Haruhi tried to stop the fight,

"Renge, come on, cut it out..."

The man Renge grabbed grew angered and Alex seemed to freeze as he shouted, "Hey! You think you can push me around!? Don't act so big-headed just 'cause you're from Class A!" He roughly grabbed Renge's arm and threw her roughly towards a whole bunch of construction equipment.

**"_Look out!"_ **Alex and Haruhi shouted at the same, Haruhi moving behind Renge and being thrown with her, and Alex who ran in the way of the construction equipment. There were multiple screams and during the crash, Alex somehow managed to push Haruhi and Renge away from the equipment and shouted when she was knocked to the ground by said equipment.

"H-Haruhi-!" Renge then noticed Alex, eyes widening, "Alex! Alex! Are you okay!?" Renge tried to push the equipment off of her, but only got the lighter stuff off. "Haruhi, ALex is-!"

"Damn it," Haruhi cursed, while Alex groaned, fading back into consciousness. "Alex, what the hell were you doing?"

"I'm fine..." She mumbled, despite the fact that tears were pricking her eyes. "I-I'm fine...Beat them up for me...will you?" She tried to move, but found herself stuck. "O-Oh, isn't lovely?'

"Renge, next time, don't judge people!" Alex's voice suddenly grew sharp as she glared at Renge, "It's because of you stereotyping and being so _god damned obsessed with that game _that we're in this-this-that we're in this..._Damn it_." It hurt. It hurt a lot. Her head felt like someone was pounding mercilessly on it and her back... Her shoulders shook, but she bit her lip as she refused to cry.

"I-I don't understand what you're trying to say..." Renge was too worried about Alex and Haruhi too do much else. Haruhi was trying to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes, muttering on how it hurt, while Alex was trapped underneath some heavy equipment.

"Haruhi, what happened!?" Tamaki demanded, appearing on the scene. One look at the scene and he snapped. The man who pushed Renge suddenly found himself with a bloody nose and was pushed up against the wall, Tamaki gripping his uniform collar tightly as he glared down at the man, blue eyes furious. "Which one of you bastards started this?"

The man stuttered, "I-I-We..we didn't-!"

"Would you like to be expelled together?" Tamaki questioned, blue eyes furious.

"Wait a minute, Suoh, it's not what you think!" The second guy said and glanced behind him fearfully at Mori. "Th-That chick started it-"

"Teacher, this way!" Hikaru called from around the corner Tamaki appeared. Kaoru added

"There're scary Class D people!" Tamaki released the man and he and his friend ran for it, while Tamaki headed towards Haruhi. Mori and Mitskuni however, headed over to lift the equipment off of Alex, who's head was bleeding slightly.

"Lexi-Chan, are you alright?" She nodded numbly, sitting up with all her strength.

"Y-Yeah, I-I'm fine..." She accepted Mori's hand and let him pull her up, allowing her to stand on her own two feet. "Wh-What about H-Haruhi and-and Renge?" SHe looked to see Tamaki's scene with the short haired brunette.

Tamaki had his hands resting over Haruhi's cheeks, looking into her eyes as he tried to get answers, "Haruhi...Are you in any pain?"

She continued to rub at her eyes, "It...hurts..." Tears continued to stream down her cheeks, "My contact lenses moved..."

"Contact...?"

"Ah! Now it came out..." Haruhi frowned. Tamaki stared at her for a moment before laughing,

"I see how it is! So, you're a full-fledged Host now!" Haruhi stared at him for a moment before smiling.

"I-I wanna go home..." Alex muttered as she limped over to the Hitachiin brother's. They looked down at her for a moment as she asked, "How much longer do we have to wait here? Can't we just go home already?" Alex...didn't really know when she started to think of the Hitachiin estate as "Home", she just called it that. They sighed at her, but grinned anyway,

"Yeah."

"Sure thing, Alex."

"Please tell me you got that camerman!" They snapped out of it at Renge's voice. They turned their heads to see her pointing at the crew, who nodded,

"Yes, boss!"

"Other than Haruhi's contact falling out, that was an ideal final scene!" Renge exclaimed, her grip tightening on the script. "All it needs now is a moving narration from my sweet Kyoya-!" She was cut off by a rock being smashed into the camera lens. Everyone looked to see the noise and saw Kyoya holding a rock up to the lens.

Alex could only describe him with one word and that would be "Angry". The cameraman shrieked, "What'd you do to my camera!?"

"K-Kyoya?" Renge was confused, "Is something wrong?"

"I'm terribly sorry," Kyoya began, not sounding sorry at all. "but I can not allow there to be any record of a club member engaging in violence. I think you caused enough trouble around here, Renge. Please, stop being such a pest."

Renge was silent for a moment as Kyoya's words registered in her brain, "A pest...?" The tears were streaming down her cheeks before she could stop them, "But you're supposed to be kind and pat me on the head! You're supposed to be affectionate, Kyoya! Why are you acting so differently now!?" She demanded, crying. "Tell me why!"

"Because that's not the real Kyoya." Tamaki told her, smiling gently.

Hikaru shrugged, "It's okay, really. It was actually kind of fun."

Mitskuni, from atop Mori's shoulders, exclaimed with a smile, "Right!"

Kaoru nodded, "There're various reasons to fall in love." Alex grinned widely,

"But the best reason is when you fall in love with the person after getting to know them!"

Renge dropped to her knees, sobbing, and Haruhi knelt down in front of her.

"Does it really matter?" She asked her. "Who cares if Kyoya is a little different than you expected him to be? Take a good look at the person inside and get to know them little by little. It's a lot more fun that way, don't you think?" She gave Renge a closed-eye smile.

Renge's eyes grew half-lidded as she apologized, "I'm...sorry for causing so much trouble..."

The Host Club merely grinned at her. When Renge looked up, she could almost see what Haruhi was talking about.

...Seven days later...

Music Room #3-January 19- 3:04 P.M.

"I bought the video of that film you made!"

"So did I!"

"I did too!"

Men and girls' alike started to talk. The Host Club members, minus Kyoya and Alex, blinked in confusion.

Tamaki tried to mask the surprise in his voice, "You did?"

"That scene in the rain was just phenomenal!"

"I love the lonely Prince!"

"The loving relationship between Hikaru and Kaoru was just so _sweet_!"

"I want to see Honey-Sempai's dark side again!"

"Oh, but when Alex-Chan went and protected Haruhi!?"

"Haruhi-Kun in pain is just so...Oh!"

"Do you think Mori-Sempai's role is a masochist?"

"Yes!"

Tamaki lifted his hand up just a smidge, speaking up in warning voice, "Kyoya...Alex..."

"It was Kyoya's idea!" Alex blurted, grinning like a mad man. "He just let me edit the videos! Turns out I'm actually quite good at it."

"I may have broken the lens, but the footage we already shot wasn't damaged." Kyoya explained with a smirk, writing something down in his book. "But, naturally, we did cut out that one violent scene. The sales have done well so far." He turned his head and pushed up his glasses, a smirk clear on his face, "That Hollywood film crew did a fantastic job. But then, I guess that's to be expected."

Alex resisted the urge to squeal, "I always wanted to be an actress-Well, I'm still leaning more towards being an author though. But you get my point," She shrugged, grinning.

Hikaru and Kaoru sweatdropped, stress lines forming on the sides of their faces, **"So this is what you meant by interesting?" **

"It's best to have as much money as we can in the club's budget."

Alex looked at Haruhi and saw the look on her face. She grinned, "Since the very beginning, Haruhi, since the very beginning." She looked down at Alex startled,

"What; You're a mind reader now too!?"

"Nope, I'm just ninja."

"Good day, everyone." A familiar voice greeted, causing the Host Club to turn their heads.

"Renge?" Tamaki questioned in confusion. "But I though you had gone back to France already."

"I can't believe I didn't recognize it sooner-the chivalrousness to risk your life to protect me!" Renge started, clasping her hands in front of her. "I could feel the love when you lectured me about judging people!" Everyone blinked when she reached out and grasped Haruhi's hands, "When you said that it's better to get to know people little by little, you were talking about me!"

"Er, yeah..."

Renge suddenly started to drag Haruhi off, sending Tamaki and Alex into fuming rages. "C'mon Haruhi, let's go to my house and play some games! I think it's time you get to know me better!"

"Hey, Kyoya-Sempai." Hikaru called, getting his attention as he wrote something down.

"Are you okay with that?" Kaoru questioned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I'M NEVER GOING TO HELP YOU AGAIN!" Alex screeched, irritated to no end.

"Why wouldn't I be? After all, everything Renge said was true."

Tamaki snapped at him, "No it isn't!"

"But I though _you _were the one who Haruhi to have female friends?" Kyoya smiled at Tamaki, sending him into another rage,

"Well yeah, another female companion-NOT A GIRLFRIEND!"

"She took my Haruhi~!" Alex whined, falling to her knees.


	11. Beware the Physical Exams

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila. I don't own any anime or their chacraters. I only own Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler refrences.**

**Okay, yeah, i deleted the original, but it bored me and ticked me off and just didn't want to turn out how I wanted it too. So REWRITE! YAY!**

**Okay, quick relay! Since this story is taking place in 2014, I had to do some research and stuff. **

**Kyoya is 17, so he was born in 1997. Ox and Scorpio. AB**

**Tamaki is 16, so he was born in 1998. Tiger and Aries. A**

**Haruhi is 15, so she was born in 1999. Rabbit and Aquarius. O**

**Alex is 15, so she was born in 1999. Rabbit and Virgo. O**

**Hikaru and Kaoru are 15, so they were born in 1999. Rabbit and Gemini. B**

**Mori is 17, so he was born in 1997. Ox and Taurus. O**

**Honey is 17, so he was born in 1997. Ox and Pisces. AB**

January 19

"Welcome to our joyful house!" Tamaki declared, smiling happily as he held up a bento box. "I'm the pillar of the family, the Father, Tamaki!"

Haruhi lifted up her cooking ladle, saying with a bored face, "I'm in charge of cooking, the Eldest daughter, Haruhi!" Alex popped up with a grin,

"I'm the youngest daughter, Alex, and I help Mommy out with her job!"

Hikaru and Kaoru grinned, raising their hands in the air, **"We're the eldest sons and we're in charge of being noisy!"**

Mori had an emotionless face as Mitskuni shouted happily, "We're the neighbors!"

Kyoya appeared with a smile on his face, holding up housekeeping book, "And I'm the Mother, Kyoya, and I'm in charge of family finance!"

**"We're poor," **The Host Club, minus Kyoya and Alex who were lounging on a couch, said.

**"But happy!" **Said Kyoya and Alex.

...Okay, time for the _real _chapter...

**February 12, courtyard, 3:12 P.M.**

Hikaru, Kaoru, Tamaki, and Kyoya all wore waiter-like uniforms, while Haruhi, Mitskuni, Mori, and Alex all wore kimonos...Alex's being the only "Girly" one. She wore a light purple kimono that faded to pink at the sleeves and hems, a dark green line that also faded to a lighter green streaking the kimono. She had a red obiage and a brown obi. The obijime was a golden brown to match her eyes, along with the obidome. Her dark brown hair was also "Done-up" in a rather traditional hair style. Up in a bun, with chopsticks, and a little "Crown" stuck in the bun to give off an idea of her being "Royalty" or something of the sort.

Daichi smiled charmingly at Alex, almost to the point of having roses blooming around him, as he complimented with shining eyes, "You look amazing Alex, almost like you actually _are _royalty." Alex sweatdropped, finding that compliment a bit over-exaggerated, and said,

"Um, thanks, but I don't really think so..." Nagihiko spoke up, narrowing his eyes in determination as he tried to convince the poor girl,

"No, really! You look wonderful!" He quickly came up with a metaphor, making hand gestures as he did so, "Like a butterfly just hatching out of its cocoon, showing her true beauty to the world!"

Alex's sweatdrop grew more prominent as she gained stress lines, _These guys are a regular "Tamaki"...I worry for the future of mankind. _One Tamaki was enough, but two? Alex looked around, seeing how everyone else was doing, and blinked when she caught sight of one of the girl's complaining on how "Overwhelming" the Hitachiins' act was. She shook her head, grinning, "Thanks..."

"Oh, it's no problem!" Daichi replied smiling, nodding his head. "It's only the truth."

"Even with this beauty mark?" Alex gestured to the scar on her chin that stretched to her ear, "Any beauty I had was swept away _long _ago. But thanks, anyway. I appreciate it." _Though I don't believe it. _

"You are absolutely right, mademoiselle," Alex paused when she heard Kyoya speak and before she could even think about it, she found herself staring at him as he stood among the cherry blossom trees, looking ridiculously handsome in that "Waiter" outfit, "all beauty is fleeting," She blinked when she saw him looking her and felt her face heat up in embarrassment. She turned her head quickly and started to stir the tea in her cup, "Just look at these cherry blossoms. You'll never see them this vibrant again."

_Okay, calm down. _Alex told herself mentally, confused on why she was acting so flustered at being caught. Her mind grew distractedly rather quickly as she wondered, _How long has it been since I joined the club? Three, four months? _She shrugged to herself, listening to Nagihiko rattling on and on about how beautiful butterflies were, especially after they just hatched. He had some _weird _hobbies.

"Alex, can you come over here for a second?" She blinked at Kyoya's voice and looked around, pointing at herself. The dark haired boy nodded and Alex stood, attempting to bow elegantly to her guests',

"Excuse me, gentlemen, I have something to tend to." _Ugh, old-fashion talk. _She thought as she moved her way over to Kyoya. It was hard walking in the kimono, as it restricted some movement, so she couldn't even run without tripping. Which, of course, was exactly what she did. She screamed as she started to fall towards the ground, her face preparing to kiss the grass, only to find herself pressed against something soft and familiar. She felt arms wrap around her waist and pull her close. "Sorry-!" She apologized, attempting to regain her balance, only to find herself tripping in the unfamiliar sandles again. "Gah!" She gasped and grumbled unintelligibly to herself as she pressed her hands against Kyoya's chest, lifting her head to look at him, "Sorry. Kimono restricts my movement. _And _the sandles just don't like me." He released her and placed his hands on her shoulder, helping to gain her balance.

"I'm beginning to think that you just like it when I catch you."

"I do not!" She argued, glaring at him. She hesitated at the smirk though. _Wait, I did **not **just become speechless because he smirked!? _"I do-I do _not _like it-I mean, I like the fact that you stop me from face-planting into the ground and stuff, but I don't _like _it like that-ah," She started to confuse herself. "Grah! You get the point!" She huffed, crossing her arms.

"Hey, Alex!" The girl barely had time to blink before Kaoru had grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him, his other arm snaking it's way around her waist and resting a hand on her stomach, her back pressed to his chest as he held up a piece of paper, ""So, Alex, have you decided your elective courses for this coming turn?" She blinked in confusion and surprise, _Isn't he supposed to be asking **Haruhi **this question?_

Alex turned her head to look at the short haired brunette, only to see her in a headlock by Hikaru, drawing out an enraged Tamaki. She sweatdropped and turned back to Kaoru, slightly uncomfortable by the new position, "Um, I was think Art...Maybe Honors English."

Kaoru grinned at her, "How about conversation French?" He suggested, looking at the paper. Alex struggled to be released, but Kaoru had a firm grip on her.

Haruhi let out a yelp as Hikaru dragged her over, stopping when he was right next his brother, "I think the four of us should take it together, after all..."

Hikaru turned his head to smirk at Tamaki, while Kaoru grinned at Kyoya, who standing only a few feet away from him, **"We_ are_ in the same class." **

Alex sweatdropped at their actions, staring at them with raised eyebrows, "Are you guys _trying _to piss Tamaki off?"

They shrugged, grinning at her, "Tamaki-Sempai isn't the only one."

"Yeah, we're trying to aggravate Kyoya-Sempai, too." Alex groaned, attempting a face-palm.

"You guys are idiots..." She turned to look at Kaoru, growing uncomfortable at the lack of space between their faces, and leaned backwards slightly, " And I told you, there's _nothing _between us! Get that through your thick skulls!"

Kaoru lifted his head up and blinked at her, saying wisely,

"You don't have to be with someone to like someone. Like we told Renge, there are multiple reasons to fall in love with someone." Alex opened her mouth to ask what reasons he was talking about, but he changed the subject, "Now, about those courses...Have you thought about Honors English?"

"I had Honors English back in Middle School, once. I was about to be placed in it again, but because I was in band and all the band and choir kids shared classes, they just stuck me in regular old English." He blinked at her, not really getting an answer. Alex sighed, "Sure...Might as well-don't know about you, but I don't want to end up in a class full of strangers." He grinned widely at that.

"So...yes?"

"Yup," Alex popped the "p". She then made dramatic hand movements, even if she was still a little bit uncomfortable with Kaoru's hand resting on her stomach and her back against his chest, saying, "And what on _earth _would I do if I didn't have at least _one _ginger in my life? Oh, the tragedy!"

"Yes, it's all so very tragic," Kaoru agreed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at Alex's melodramatics. "What on earth would _I _do without at least one hyperactive female brunette in my life?" Alex grinned and lifted a hand up-albeit awkwardly- and poked him in the forehead,

"You'd be bored to death without my awesomeness there to keep you entertained!"

"Mommy..." Alex heard Tamaki speak, causing her to turn her head with a growing grin, realizing which scene this was.

"What is it now, "Daddy"?" Kyoya questioned, a small, amused, smirk forming on his face. Alex blinked when she caught his gaze-her breathe hitching slightly.

_What's with that look? Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morn-actually, knowing him, he probably did. _Alex, figuring that was it, dropped the subjecct in her mind. Alex wiggled in Kaoru's grip again, trying to get more space between them.

"Can you let go, now?" She whined, wanting to be released. Kaoru grinned at her and he pulled her closer, clearly trying to "piss off" Kyoya. _Let me go! RAWR! I will bite you-wait, I'm not saying this aloud, so what's the point? _Alex felt like banging her head against a wall for her idiocy.

"Kaoru." The ginger released the poor girl instantly, sending her stumbling and falling towards the ground-_if_, that's a very big _if_, it wasn't for Kyoya catching her...again.

"Is that our thing, or something? I fall, you catch me? 'Cause that seems to be all that we do." Alex couldn't read his expression, as his glasses were covering his eyes again.

"Perhaps."

"Haruhi!" They turned their heads to look at Tamaki, who gripped Haruhi's shoulders as he shouted, "Daddy wants you to stop hanging out with those shady twins!"

Hikaru gained a tick mark as he waved his fist in the hair, "Hey, who you callin' shady!?"

"Yeah!" Kaoru, backing away from Kyoya and Alex, moved over to stand next to his brother, "Take a good look at yourself, boss!"

Alex smirked, joining in, raising an index finger, "Tsk, tsk, Tamaki. Did you only _just _realize how shady a character you are?" Kyoya released the girl carefully, making sure she wouldn't fall.

Tamaki recoiled, backing up with a look of horror and realization on his face, "Yes...that's it!" He quickly stood up straight and clenched a fist, a determined look on his face, "Alright, then! We can't go on hiding the fact that you're a girl from the school any longer! All Daddy wants is for you to go back to being the girl you used to be!" By this point, he had tears streaming down his face.

Alex turned to Kyoya and poked him in the arm, looking up at him. Kyoya stopped writing in his little black book and looked down at her, eyes hidden behind glasses. "I think Tamaki went off the deep end." She told him with a straight face. Kyoya blinked.

"-for you to hang around girl friends and start leading wholesome lives!" Tamaki cried. "Aleeeex! Start making Haruhi a girl nooow!" Tamaki cried, turning to the brunette and running towards her, ready to grab her and push her towards Haruhi in hopes that her "girl-ness" would rub off on her. Alex, quickly realizing what he was planning, took a few steps back and hid behind Kyoya-Who happened to be a great deal taller than her.

"Uh, no."

"Come here and make Haruhi and girly-girl!" Tamaki whined, running towards her with his arms outstretched. He had really long legs, so he was a fast runner, and with the kimono Alex was wearing, she was even slower.

"No-Kyoya! Help me!" She screamed, grabbing the hem of the kimono and under-kimono and lifting it up to her knees as she tried to run. Poor Kyoya, Tamaki and Alex were running in circles around him. Alex screamed as she tripped, the sandal strap on her left foot snapping and pulling on her ankle, causing her to reach out desperately as she tried to grab onto Kyoya's sleeve to stop herself from falling-missing and crashing with Tamaki on her back.

Pain flared throughout her foot and tears immediately started to well up in her eyes. Alex, being Alex, tried to hold back the tears, grounding her teeth together as she clenched the grass beneath her tightly. She tried to hold back a scream, because the pain in her foot, with Tamaki's weight on top her, was _not _helping.

Tamaki moved off of her quickly and knelt down beside her, "Alex! Are you breathing-Kyoya! Alex isn't breathing! _Kyoya!" _Tamaki was starting to have a panic attack when Alex tried to lift herself off the ground, flinching and breathing in sharply. "Alex!" She couldn't hold back the scream when he tackled her back onto the ground, her foot pressing harshly onto her side, "Alex, you're okay-!"

"_Get off me!" _Alex screamed, squeezing her eyes shut as tried to move-but stopped since that only caused more pain. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow-get off my foot! Tama-Tamaki get off!" He did so, reeling back. He looked at her with wide, worried blue eyes as he watched her prop herself up with her elbows, reaching over and placing her right hand on her bad foot.

"What happened!?" She heard Haruhi exclaim and heard multiple footsteps rushing over, so she figured it was the rest of the Host Club.

"Lexi-Chan, what happened!?"

**"Boss, what did you do!?" **

"It wasn't me, I swear!" Her head was pounding slightly and she could hear their voices jumble together.

"Shut up!" Alex snapped and she winced. "Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, I'm sorry, sorry..." She muttered repeatedly, blinking a few times to try and get rid of the tears. She inhaled deeply, "I'm fine. Go back to-go back to doing what you were doing." She swallowed and tried to stand, pressing her weight onto her right foot and nearly screaming again when she put weight onto her left foot. She bit her lip and, ignoring the searing pain in her foot, propelled herself onto her feet. Quickly leaning onto her right foot, she relaxed for the most part.

"Alex." She blinked when she heard Mori speak and looked up at him with surprise, before quickly shaking her head,

"I told you, I'm fine-" She inhaled sharply again when she shifted, little weight being pressed onto her left foot and causing more pain. _Okay, not fine. Not fine-Not there. Pain isn't there. No pain. I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine-_ She told herself, trying to get herself to believe it, so she could convince everyone else that she was fine. "Now, what were you talking about again?"

"Alex, I'm fairly certain that if you were "Fine", you wouldn't have screamed like that when Tamaki tackled you." Haruhi told her, always the wise one. Alex frowned at that, quickly coming up with an excuse.

"It's not my fault my foot was being pressed against a rock," She said and turned her head, blinking when she locked eyes with Kyoya. "I'll-I'm going to head back to the Club room, I had enough of the Host Club today." Alex told them and whirled around, trying to hide the limp when she walked. It was harder than it sounds.

"Kyoya," She barely heard Tamaki speak. "You're the medical expert-" His voice faded away and Alex figured she was in the clear.

_Should be far enough now, _She thought to herself and nodded, quickly limp-running to her destination. Every time her left foot touched the ground, she inhaled sharply. She was glad that this time, she had the way memorized to the club room, unlike a few months ago.

Once she reached her destination, she quickly fiddled with the obi and obijime, and the obiage and pulled them off, before taking off the kimono. Left in nothing but the white haneri, she threw the items she took off on the nearest couch. She limped over to said couch and sat down, lifting her leg up and resting it on her thigh. She pulled off her sandal, wincing and making a few sounds of pain here and there, and did the same with her sock. She flinched, whether at the sight of it, or the pain when her foot brushed against the couch, no one knew.

"That's-That's lovely." She laughed bitterly to herself, mentally scolding herself for getting hurt again. "Makes me wonder how much trouble Akari got herself back in my dimension." Alex swallowed at that and gently poked her foot, flinching again. "Okay," Her voice went up a pitch, "not doing that again and the kimono's dirty...hopefully Kyoya won't kill me for that." She shook her head to clear her thoughts and focused back on her ankle, which seemed slightly swollen. Nothing minimal or severe, so more...moderated?

She jumped and let out a quick scream out pain when there was the loud slamming of something being set on a table. She looked up quickly, tears welling in her eyes, as she looked at Kyoya.

He was frowning. That was the first thing Alex noticed. His glasses were also covering his eyes, so, that meant he was feeling one of three things.

One) He was angry.

Two) He was secretly frightened.

Three) He was shocked.

Four) She honestly doesn't know.

She figured it was the first one, the other three seemed to unlikely. She always did seem to be on the receiving side of silent anger most days. She blinked for a moment, and after a few moments of silence, asked bluntly and innocently, "Are you a Scorpio or something?" It was totally out of place and not fitting for the situation, but it was the only thing her mind was focusing on.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kyoya asked, opening the first aid kid and pulling out some ace-wrap. He set it down on the table that rested between the two couches and chairs and said, "Wait here, I'll go get some ice."

She blinked as she watched his retreating back. It made sense-Scorpio's were very perceptive, very tolerant of people and or things, intuitive, determined, and they also influenced others, along with a sense of competition. Their negative traits were jealousy, being possessive, indulgence in power, holding grudges, and...doubtfulness. _I don't think he's even doubted himself, though...So that's one trait he doesn't have. He's really confident and I **really **have a bad habit of reading about Zodiac signs, don't I? Star signs, zodiac signs-blegh. _

He walked back in and Alex blinked, instantly taking note of the dark aura that seemed to envelope him. He knelt down in front of her and Alex nodded her, convinced, "Yeah, you're definitely a Scorpio."

"Why are you so determined to find out if I'm a Scorpio or not?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow as he placed an ice pack on Alex's foot. She winced and watched as he grabbed the ace-wrap and started to wrap it around her ankle, gradually heading towards her toes. _I have really small feet...I just noticed that. _She blinked at her thoughts. "I highly doubt you're trying to see if we're compatible."

She grinned cheekily at him and said with a slight egoistical tone, "Ah, please, as if someone as awesome as myself would stoop to such stalker-like tactics!" She laughed slight and shook her head, smiling, "Nah, just have a weird habit for researching Zodiac signs and Star signs. Strange topic of mine I like to read about. You seem like a Scorpio to me. You're perceptive, extremely tolerant of Tamaki and myself, determined, and you tend to influence others." She could see one of his eyebrows raise slightly, "You're-You're also competitive, though you don't show it often and...I don't know, do you hold grudges?" She looked at him confused as he stared at her, eyes hidden again.

She continued, "I don't really think you doubt yourself, considering how cocky you are-so I ruled that trait out. Jealousy, I'm fairly certain you have, but I don't know about possessiveness..." She looked at him curiously and asked, "Are you possessive of things?"

Kyoya was silent for a few moments, wrapping the ace-wrap around her foot and placing the last few finishing touches. He still didn't say anything as he placed the left over ace-wrap and splint-stuff back in the first-aid kit. Alex removed her foot from his knee and placed it down on the ground, inhaling deeply for a moment before relaxing. _Okay, not so bad... _

"If I am possessive," Alex blinked in surprise when Kyoya looked at her. They locked eyes and Alex wasn't sure what transpired, but she _was _surprised and confused when he continued, "then that wouldn't be necessarily my fault, would it?"

Alex, not sure what to say to that, shrugged, "I guess." She then grinned, "Hey, but since I know for fact that you're a Scorpio, want to know what my Star sign is?"

Kyoya blinked at her, eyes almost widening but stopping just in time-Alex noticed though, but decided to say nothing. Kyoya said, "It would only be fair."

"I'm a Virgo-Rabbit." He almost seemed to smirk at that.

"Interesting. I happen to be an Ox."

"Scorpio-Ox...Seems to define you. You do wear a mask, after all." At that, he truly looked surprise and Alex's eyes widened. "Did I say that out loud? I meant to say, you swear like a flask! Hehehe...And you don't believe that at all, do you?" She tried to think of a way to change the subject, before saying quickly, "Do you still think I'm crazy since I told you I "Died" when Hikaru and Kaoru ran me over with their limo?"

"...You're not normal, that's for certain."

"Thank you, I try."

* * *

**Next Day.**

Alex grumbled all the colors of the rainbow as she fiddled with her crutches. She was used to twisting her foot and making it generally useless-it was always her left foot, for some reason. She was used to injuring and being unable to walk normally, and _not _using crutches and just limping to wherever she needed to go. Sometimes she hopped, sometimes she limped, sometimes she just complained or joked about it. Always tried to hide the pain though. She _never _used a crutch in her life.

And now she was sitting on the couch, watching as Tamaki daydreamed about Haruhi. The girl groaned and fell backwards, landing on the cushions and position herself so that her feet rested of the armrest. Her crutches were dropped against the floor, left to rot.

"He must be having a great daydream!" She heard Mitskuni exclaim. Hikaru's tone was more "Freaked out" than anything.

"He's kinda creeping me out..."

Kaoru, seeming to take on the role of the kind Big Brother, let Alex's head lay on his lap, a hand on her head. He lifted his head up and blinked as he watched Tamaki whirl around and point at Hikaru, grinning confidently.

"Envious, Hikaru? This is all part of my strategy!"

Alex muttered to herself, not really asking anyone, "Oh, and what plan would that be? To seduce Haruhi and make her your wife?" She heard Kaoru chuckle at that and she grinned.

"While you waste time, blinded by your jealousy, I foresee the outcome of this charade!" Tamaki didn't seem to hear them. "This anime's obviously a romantic school comedy!"

"What anime?" Alex questioned in surprise, attempting to sit up. She feel back down however and grunted, ignoring Kaoru's laughter.

"Okay, up we go, Alex," He said and the poor girl barely had time to blink before she was lifted up in the air. She shouted in alarm and quickly wrapped her arms around Kaoru's neck, shouting for him to put her down. "It's this or crutches, which do you prefer?" Alex relented...reluctantly, and let him carry her.

"-ruhi and I are the main characters. And that means we are love interests!"

Alex felt Kaoru place her back down on the couch and blinked in confusion when he knelt down in front of her, his back facing her. _What is he doing-? _

"Hurry up, I'm not planning on sitting her all day. Get on." She looked at him in surprise before grinning widely, wrapping her arms around his neck as he grabbed her legs and wrapped them around his waist, standing.

"Free piggy-back! Woo!" She cheered, smiling widely. "I haven't had one in ages! Whoa! Careful!" Kaoru, with Alex on his back, moved over to stand next to his brother. Alex looked around, finding herself at the same height as Mori and Kyoya, and grinned, "I'm as tall as you guys now! Haha!"

Mori gave her a slight amused look, "Yeah." It was hardly noticeable, but Alex was one who payed attention to detail, so she could make out all the slightest changes in expression.

Kyoya said nothing, merely looking at her from behind his glasses before resuming in his writing.

**"If you and Haruhi are the main characters, then what are we?" **Hikaru and Kaoru questioned, frowning.

"You people are the homosexual supporting cast." Tamaki declared, pointing at them with a cocky grin. Alex felt her eyebrow twitch.

"I don't have anything against gays or lesbians or people of that sort, but I'm _straight _thank you very much! Kaoru, charge! I can't punch or kick 'em from this distance!"

Kaoru shook his head at his antics and most of the Host Club male members looked at the girl amused, and made to take a step forward, but was stopped by Tamaki who made a scratch on the pink marble floor with a stick.

"Please make sure that you don't step across this line."

"Ah! He made a scratch on the marble!" Mitskuni exclaimed, surprised.

**"You've got to be kidding," **Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison, looking at Tamaki incredulously.

"Hey, listen, boss." Hikaru started, giving Tamaki a look.

"I don't think you get it," Kaoru continued.

"If word gets out that Haru-Chan is really a girl, then she won't be able to be in the Host Club, anymore!" Mitskuni informed.

Alex blinked, sweatdropping. _Couldn't she just become a Hostess? I mean, seriously. Unless there's some rule that you can't switch roles or maybe it would be because everyone would be so freaked out, not even the guys would want to hang out with in case she really **was **a boy? Man, talk about timey-wimey."_

"_But_," Mitskuni continued, oblivious to Tamaki's frozen form, "if Haru-Chan stared to wear girls' clothes, I'd bet she'd be even cuter than she is now!"

"She dressed like a regular girl when she was in middle school, right?" Hikaru questioned, looking at Kyoya for confirmation. "She must've been pretty popular with all the boys." Alex blinked and rested her chin on Kaoru's right shoulder, closing her eyes.

"Yeah," Kyoya informed them, "According to all my investigative reports, someone would declare their undying love for her at _least _once a month."

"Oh, I see!" Kaoru said, eyes going wide. "So the boss wouldn't even be able to get close to her."

Alex couldn't help but grin, trying to cheer herself up, and lifted her head and giving herself a "thoughtful" look, "Well, Haruhi _is _pretty cute...I think I might be able to swing that way, if just for her."

"NO! Alex, do not do such a thing!" Tamaki charged and Alex shouted as she fell backwards. She would've cracked her skull open if it weren't for Mori being behind her and catching her. Tamaki gripped her shoulders, shaking her back and forth, "What kind of productivity is there in a relationship with two girls!? Why do you think god created Adam and Eve-!"

"There is no god, and if I wanted to swing that way, I would!" Alex snapped, pushing Tamaki away from. She flinched as she stood, glaring at Tamaki, "There is no _God_, if there was a _God _then would he have taken me from my family!? Would he have pulled me away from everyone I knew and loved!? Would he have let me _die _just so Akari could live!? Damn it, there is no _God _and if there _were_, then I would be in America, switching back and forth from my parents houses every week, failing Math class, chattering and goofing off with Elena, Raphael, and Liam-I'd be anticipating my siblings visits since they're always away and in college and _you know what_!? I _can't _because I'm _dead__! I died when that damn limo hit me and Akari stole my life from me!" _She panted, chest heaving up and down heavily. She said that all in one breathe and she was exhausted. Everyone was silent, staring at her in shock and confusion.

She swallowed and paled, tensing as she realized what she just said. "I-I gotta go, sorry." She whirled around, pushed herself past Mori and Kyoya, and limped-ran towards the doors, just as Haruhi opened them.

"Hey, guys, sorry I'm late-" She cut herself off, looking at Alex in shock. The girl, since she turned her back to the Host Club, let the silent tears fall. Alex muttered a quiet,

"Hey, Haruhi..." And brushed past her, leaving the room and heading out into the hallway.

...

Alex walked, she didn't care where, she just had to get out of there. She couldn't _believe _how stupid she had been! She didn't seem to be in control of herself-she just _snapped_. She's been holding it in for five months now, and that was five months too long. She had to let it out sometime. She just...

"I-I didn't..." Somehow, she found herself in the middle of the garden maze with the roses. She collapsed on her knees, pain tearing into her foot as it landed harshly against the ground and Alex gripped the grass tightly, squeezing her eyes shut as she cried silently to herself. "Not them! I-I didn't want it to be at them..." She whimpered, collapsing onto her side and curling into a ball as she sobbed.

What her? Why couldn't it be some other girl!? Why was it _her _and not some other girl!? A girl who actually _wanted _this life! Alex just wanted to hug her brother and sisters, to see her parents-hell, even her step-parents! She wanted to see the people who hated her, the people she made sarcastic jabs at whenever they insulted her or her friends. She wanted to see Elena and Raphael and commented on how cute they were together-She wanted to see Liam and make fun of him, she wanted to see her cousin Sally, she wanted to see _everyone_.

She wanted her houses back, she wanted to go to that library and talk to Ms. Hopper about books, she wanted to punch that robber in the face and scream at him, she wanted to take her manga book and slam into somebody's face, and she _wanted _her old life back.

People say they want their dreams to come true...but they always seem to forget that nightmares are dreams too. And Alex's did.

She got her Dream Come True, but she also got her worst Nightmare.

After a good, possibly ten minutes, while of crying, she stopped. Then she stood, stumbling as she placed all her weight on her right foot, and in a fit of anger and frustration and fear and pain, plucked a rose off of the hedge bush, and with the thorn still on the stem, clutched it as tightly as she could, blood streaming down the palm of her hand and down her wrist, trailing down her arm and staining her uniform. The pain, of course, only made her cry more, but she refused to let go.

Of course, only a few minutes later she realized what she was doing and released the rose, eyes wide with alarm and fear. Her hand burned from the wounds and she grew disgusted with all the blood that covered her. Quickly realizing that she wouldn't be able to return to the Club room looking like this, put pressure on the wounds with her other hand, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Alex," She froze at the voice and pretended she didn't hear him. _Not here, he's not here. Shit, he'll kill me if he sees the blood. Who knows how many first-aid kits he used up just to patch me up? _

"Hey, Kyoya! I gotta go!" She couldn't pretend for long as she heard him walking towards her, and started to limp forwards.

Kyoya's eyes caught sight of the red liquid staining the grass, and the rose...which seemed to be drowned in blood. His face hardened and a dark aura seemed to envelope him. "Alex."

"Later!" She was about to take of running, but was unable when a hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her backwards. Alex screamed and shook, trying to push him off. "Let me go! Let me go! I didn't do anything-Let me go!"

"_What did you do?" _She froze and looked up at him with frightened, red eyes. He was _furious_. But that wasn't what scared her. No, it was his _calm _exterior. The look in his eyes...Alex swallowed, unable to speak. He repeated himself, slower, his aura intent to kill, _"What. Did. You. Do?" _

"I...I-I didn't mean-It happened and I-I couldn't-" She swallowed, flinching and crying out, "_I'm sorry! _I'm sorry, sorry, sorry, I'm sorry-" She squeezed her eyes shut, not sure of what she was expecting. Screaming? Possibly.

"You _moron! _What the _hell _were you thinking!? Are you _trying _to _kill _yourself!?" Alex whimpered, truly frightened. _He hates me. He's tired of dealing with me-He'll stop being my friend. _But Alex would never try and kill herself. She just snapped when she grabbed onto the rose thorns. She had never seen him this angry before-she never heard him _shout _before.

"I didn't mean too! I-I just snapped," She opened her eyes and stared at him, clearly scared. Kyoya noticed and toned down his anger a little, but still glared at her. She swallowed, "I-I didn't realize what I was doing until after I did it." She tried to get her voice strong and clear. It was failing miserably. His grip on her arm seemed to tighten and before Alex knew it, she gained a face full of blue.

_Wait...what? _Was Kyoya...**hugging **her?

"Damn it," She heard him curse quite a few times and looked up at wide eyes, only to tense when she felt him rest his chin on her head, "do you _like _making me worry?"

Alex swallowed, blinking a few times to make sure she was hallucinating. Did he say-? _Not _the reaction she was expecting. "Not-It-It wasn't intentional..." She didn't know what else she could say. "Not really?" Why the hell would he be worried about someone like _her_? Especially after she snapped like that in the clubroom-She tensed. Why hasn't he brought that up yet?

"You're a damn _moron_. Why do always go and hurt yourself?" Alex, having only one free hand, pressed it against Kyoya's chest as she leaned back to look up at him, extremely confused by how he was acting.

"I told you-_it wasn't intentional! _I don't _like _hurting myself! I hate pain, thank you very much!"

Kyoya was still gripping her blood arm and Alex's hand started to go numb-in fact, she started to feel a little lightheaded...

"Speaking of pain," She blinked a few times, swallowing, "I'm getting dizzy. Have any gauze on you?"

She heard a sigh and screamed when she was suddenly picked up, "Of course. I always have to carry some around nowadays, because _someone _seems to like the attention."

"I do _not_!" Her voice squeaked indignantly.

* * *

**February**** 14**

Physical Exam day came by rather quickly, and Alex seemed to be avoiding everyone. The Club members didn't seem to notice, but that's what Alex expected. They care only for Haruhi, not her-Well, except for Kyoya and Kaoru, apparently. Kyoya was her best friend and Kaoru was...well, a brother figure. Alex was selfish, she'll admit it. But why wouldn't she be? _If I were a Homunculus, I'd totally be Greed... _

Haruhi was her best girl friend here, and Kyoya was her best guy friend. The Physical Exam was eventful, of course. Apparently a man named Yabu came to Ouran High School looking for his daughter, only to get mistaken as a Doctor to examine students. After being mistaken as a pervert by a girl when he tried to ask if she knew his daughter, he ran into the Special Boys Clinic were Haruhi was stripping.

She was in a pink tanktop and pants, thankfully, so she wasn't exposed or anything, but the Host Club members were _pissed__. _

_**"One," **Hikaru and Kaoru began, eyes dark. They stood behind Haruhi, hands in their pockets, **"Good looks that attracts the public eye."**_

_"Two," Kyoya stepped out of the shadows, hands in his pockets as he leaned forward. He had his "Shadow King" smile on his face, "more wealth than you can imagine."_

_"Three," Mori spoke in his deep voice, "Chivalry that will never be able to overlook,"_

_"The hideous wickedness of this world." Mitskuni finished, voice dark and scary. Tamaki walked over to Haruhi and placed his shirt over her head, saying,_

_"That's what makes up the Ouran Host Club!"_

_Kyoya was silent while the rest of the Host Club, excluding Alex who pouted, said, **"We're here! So watch out!"**_

_"How come I don't get a cool line?" Alex frowned, pouting like a little kid._

_"Please don't hurt me!" The man begged, bowing to the ground, "Spare me my life!"_

_"Dude...We're not here to **kill** you." Alex told him, eyeing him weirdly. "You-You have problems."_

And thus it went to him explaining his life story and Tamaki getting Kyoya to go and get the poor Quack Doctor a map.

_It didn't take long for Kyoya to return and give the map to the man. Yabu then headed out, the Host Club watching Yabu wave at them from the window, walking off._

_"Are you sure about this?" Hikaru questioned Tamaki._

_"After all," Kaoru started, "even if he does find his daughter, there's no guarantee that she'll want to speak to him."_

_"Well then," Tamaki began after a few moments of silence, "That's something he'll have to find out for himself." Haruhi's eyes widened. After a few moments, she spoke up,_

_"I'm sorry about this, you guys, but can you please leave?"_

_Everyone recoiled from Haruhi, shocked. Tamaki cried out, "Haruhi, are you still angry with me!? You're not thinking of quitting the Host Club, are you!?"_

_Haruhi laughed and looked at him, smiling, "Don't be stupid, Sempai, I just got to finish my physical exam. As a male student, of course." Tamaki looked like he was holding back tears of joy, "And let me get this straight! I'm doing this just because you're bribing me with food."_

_"I would!" Alex exclaimed, raising a hand in the air, waving it back and forth as she grinned._

_"Unlike you Alex," Haruhi said, though she still smiled, "I'm doing it to pay back my debt." Tamaki couldn't hold back._

_He tackled her in a hug, causing her to scream. "You're so cute, Haruhi! I can see right through you! I know you're just after that Fancy Tuna!"_

_"Cut it out, Sempai!" She screeched, "Don't touch me there!"_

_**"Red Card!" **Hikaru and Kaoru exclaimed, grinning._

_"Looks like Tamaki-Sempai,"_

_"Is the real pervert."_

_"Who cares!?" Haruhi demanded, "Would you guys just get out of here!"_

**A.N Sorry, but I'm not a big fan of this episode. Please don't kill me-but! To make it up, I made some Bloopers! **

"Damn it," She heard him curse quite a few times and looked up at him with wide eyes, only to tense when she felt him rest his chin on her head, "do you _like _making me worry?"

Alex swallowed, blinking a few times to make sure she was hallucinating. Did he say-? _Not _the reaction she was expecting. "Not-It-It wasn't inten-intentful..." She didn't know what else she could say... She and Kyoya pulled away from each other, Alex placing a hand over her mouth, face red from embarrassment. "I'm sorry! Oh, my god, I screwed that up completely, didn't I?"

Kyoya chuckled ever so slightly, shaking his head, "You really _are _a moron, aren't you?"

"Cut!" The Director yelled, sending Hikaru and Kaoru running onto the set to help them with the fake blood and makeup. "Take two!"

...

"Charge my faithful minion, Kaoru!" Alex shouted from her spot on Kaoru's back, pointing at Tamaki. "We shall dethrone this Evil King and rule the world together, once and for all-_mawahahaha!" _

"What the hell, Alex?" Hikaru exclaimed, looking at Alex strangely. Alex turned to look at him and questioned with a confused look,

"What? Would you rather me sing _"Lunatic" _instead?" She took a deep breathe and started, "Hatred seeping out of every pore, for you. Your fire has made my life a burning hell! Though I have no single drop of royal blood, I know I've been defiled! While you torture me for your ecstasy-"

She was shut up by Tamaki running over and clamping a hand over her mouth, exclaiming, "No daughter of mine shall be singing about such malevolence!" Her voice was muffled.

...

"My life was ruined because of God and that was the wrong line, wasn't it?" The Director nodded and Alex groaned, face-palming. "I fail so miserably."

Haruhi walked over and patted the poor girl on the back, "There, there. Just think, you get mess with the twins' next chapter?" Alex brightened at that fact,

"Oh, yeah! We're supposed to be having a fight, aren't we?"


	12. Monochrome no Kiss

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila. I don't own any anime or their characters. I only own Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler references.**

After Club was over, Alex ran over to Haruhi-it was barely a day after the outburst and clearly everyone except Kyoya and Haruhi seemed uncomfortable around her. Alex seemed to appear unfazed, despite how much she was avoiding everyone except for said two Hosts, and seemed completely herself as she passed said Hosts in the hallway or at the Host Club. If she even went to the Host Club.

Alex would be lying if she said it didn't bother her. Even Mitskuni and Mori had trouble talking to her-Alex didn't blame them, she would have avoided herself too. Haruhi didn't understand why Alex and the male members of the Host Club, excluding Kyoya, were avoiding each other. In fact, since Alex lived with the twins, it made it even harder. The silence in the limo on the way home was suffocating and was so tense and awkward, no one dared break it.

Alex constantly stayed to herself, quiet, not speaking to anyone unless they spoke to her-and her silence included not talking to either Haruhi or Kyoya in fear or shouting at them.

She didn't know what to do. Reacting and figuring out how to fix a situation _she _created was not her forte. She pondered to herself quietly as she limped her way to Music Room #3, attempting to drag her behind her as she dreaded entering the room. She swallowed, fumbling with her notebooks. Her brown eyes were trained on her feet, watching as she walked and not paying attention to what was in front of her.

Her face instantly came into contact with something soft, but muscular at the same time, and she was fairly certain she caught of a glimpse of _really _dark purple cloth. So dark it look almost black. Alex's notebooks and pencils dropped to the ground, falling everywhere, as she fell backwards. She cried out as her sprained ankle flared in pain. She quickly bit her lip, squeezing her eyes shut before making a face and opening her eyes, seeing just _who _she bumped into.

Wide, alarmed, _beautiful _blue eyes looking into a pair of surprised brown. Along the blue eyes was dark lashes and pale skin. There were strands of blonde hair that fell into the handsome man's face, but for the most part covered by a dark green wig. He looked, if possible and Alex was really, _really _hoping, an American. But she knew he wasn't in the slightest. He looked like France, sounded like Germany, and was really half Russian and Japanese.

Alex quickly felt her face heat up in embarrassment and exclaimed, "I'm sorry! I'm _so _sorry, are you okay?" Nekozawa's hood was knocked off, so you could see his wig clearly. He merely blinked at Alex in surprise, not expecting such a reaction. She, flinching when her sprained ankle brushed against the ground the wrong way, started to pick up her things. After piling them up in a stack, grumbling to herself when she saw some of the papers with her drawings on them were crumpled, looked around to see if the man dropped anything and saw a cute little cat puppet.

She reached over and picked it up cautiously and held it out to the man, "Here-This is yours, right?" She blinked when she noticed his look of shock that was clear on his face. "Um, hello~?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows as she stared at the man. "Anyone home? If you're not going to take the puppet, then I'll keep it." The man blinked again, apparently still in shock, and slowly reached over and grabbed the puppet away from the girl. "Awesome, I am _so _sorry about that by the way-you know, the, um, crashing into you. I wasn't really looking were I was going and I am going to stand up now and shut up." She took a deep breathe as she grabbed her books, attempting to stand with her sprained ankle.

It wasn't easy to say that least. She flinched and her face contorted into a look of pain, and she quickly leaned on her right foot. She then looked at Nekozawa and held out a hand, guilty and embarrassed. _I can't believe I did that. I mean, seriously, I should've been paying more attention! But then again, I'm just plain stupid, aren't I? _Alex's mood decreased again, but brightened when the man took her hand and stood up, but not before eyeing her sprained foot curiously and slightly cautiously.

"I didn't, like, hurt you anything, right?"

"N-No...What about you, your ankle seems to be hurting you-" Alex grinned at him, shaking her head as she released his hand.

"Nope, I'm fine. I got this...Two days ago?" She lifted her head up in thought, pouting slightly, "Yeah, two days ago, I think. Tamaki was chasing me and we ran around Kyoya and we fell and he kinda landed on me and my ankle decided to sprain on me. All's good though!" She grinned, giving him a thumbs up, before gaining a slight distant look. "You know, minus that fact that I..." She swallowed and shook her head, "Never mind, it's nothing. Oh! What's your name? I'm Alex."

"Umehito Nekozawa. Are you, perhaps, American by any chance?" The man seemed to tilt his head as he put the puppet on his hand, making gestures and motions with it. It was actually quite adorable. "Your accent says American, though you seem to be of Japanese decent..."

Alex laughed nervously, raising a hand up and rubbing her left arm, "I guess I could be considered half-American and half-Japanese. Strange, huh?"

Umehito paused and looked at the girl for a few moments, before grinning creepily and asking in a deep voice, raising Beelzenef up to her face, "Would you like to join the Black Magic club? If you do, I can give you a cursed Beelzenef doll as a welcoming present?"

Alex was actually tempted to say "yes" and take the doll-she _really _did want the cute Beelzenef doll, but knew she couldn't. She frowned and apologized, "I'm sorry, Nekozawa-er, Sempai, but I'm already in the Host Club...and honestly, I don't feel like facing Kyoya's rage." She laughed a bit at that, but it was a little half-hearted. "But..." She paused, uncertain if she should ask. She _really _didn't want to head to the Host Club and face everyone. "Can I...Is it alright if I hang out with you in your Club room? I don't...I just, um, ah-how to explain it. The Host Club and I aren't exactly on good terms right now."

"...Why not?"

"We-_I _snapped when Tamaki said something and I just...they're avoiding me and I'm avoiding them." She inhaled deeply, "And I don't, well, I..."

Nekozawa stared at the girl for a few moments, possibly debating things in his head, before nodding, "Of course... This way, Alex." She watched as Nekozawa moved past her, walking to the direction opposite of which she came, and quickly limped after him-er, as quick as she could anyway. _Okay, I will admit, I am a **little **excited to meet Nekozawa. And the manga didn't lie, he is actually a nice guy-I think. He's just awkward with people-hey! Like me! _

They arrived onto, like, the opposite end of the school in the South Hall. In front of them was a huge, creepy looking door which lead to, very obviously, the Black Magic Club. Alex, not frightened, rather intrigued followed Nekozawa in. Okay, imagine the scariest haunted house you ever been in-complete with the skulls and dark room. Now, imagine _no _light, only candles bordering along the walls with bookshelves and bookshelves of Black Magic books, decorated with skulls and...organs in jars, and over all a fright-fest. Add a few more creepy and scary details and you got it. Now, one more thing. Imagine it as big as the Host Club room, which it was, and that was how the room looked.

"Okay, I'll admit, this looks awesome." Nekozawa turned his head with Beelzenef to look at Alex in surprise, as most people scream and fear and run away.

"You're not...frightened?"

"Nope. After facing death, you tend to find things a little less scary. Besides, even before I died, one time in Health class, Mrs. Richards showed us a real...erm, whatever it's called that comes out of the womb after you have a baby, and I was the only one in the class who didn't find it disgusting. It was, um, honestly I felt a little left out, but hey, I'm not normal."

...

Don't ask how, but somehow Nekozawa and Alex got into a conversation and it somehow led her to sitting in a recliner chair, it was black mind you, reading a Black Magic book as she was curled up in a small ball. Nekozawa had _loads _and _loads _of books. Really, the Black Magic enthusiast. Alex always had a slight interest in witch craft, but would never really hurt someone. So, Wiccan? Pagan? Who knows. Nekozawa was watching her curiously for a few moments before talking with the rest of the Black Magic Club members. Alex found it kind of funny since there's one girl, since if Alex never joined the Host Club, Haruhi would be the only girl. Alex didn't know how long she was in the Black Magic Club, but she found it relaxing and...peaceful. Unlike the Host Club, it was _booming _with people and she didn't have to talk to guys all day long and put up with false compliments about herself, but it was dark and calm and, Alex got to watch a few rituals.

It was rather interesting to say the least. She and Nekozawa seemed to get along, along with the girl who ended up being Mitskuni's girlfriend in the manga. Alex found her _adorable_. Seriously, how could she not? Alex figured she'd been in the Black Magic Club for about an hour or so, and despite not saying it out loud or showing it on her outer-appearance, was slightly hurt that the Host Club wasn't trying to find her.

Besides, why would they? They only really care about Haruhi-She's the main character. Alex wasn't supposed to exist at all. Maybe she _should _quit the Host Club and join the Black Magic Club...

"What do you mean you "died"?" Alex jumped at Nekozawa's voice. She looked at the man surprised,

"What? Oh-um, you wouldn't believe me."

He stared at her, his blue eyes seeming to see into her soul, before saying, "I might."

Before she could open her mouth, the female member, Reiko Kanazuki, spoke as she handled a crystal ball, "Turmoil. Turmoil and fear and..." She gazed intently at Alex, her dark brown eyes seeming to read her fate, "You are not of this...dimension."

"Um, yeah, how'd you know-no, wait, let me guess; Fortune telling?" Alex asked in surprise and slight amazement. She grinned, but a pang hit her chest in memory of her loved ones. Ones she would never see again. "Anyway, don't call me crazy or anything or interrupt, but according to what Akari told me, the girl who I'm _supposed _to be in this dimension-there are ten dimension. I come from the eight, while this is the third. Akari, my "Other Half" died when she and her family were murdered about a decade ago. She struck a deal with this man she calls "The Angel" and the deal was that if _I _died, _when _I die at least, she could be brought back, so long as she had no contact with other people." Alex was surprised with how nonchalantly and easily she was saying this, as if it didn't bother or traumatize her at all.

Maybe it was because they were strangers? Alex continued, not pondering too long on the thought, "Anyway, apparent the whole "Other Half' thing isn't the soul mate concept and is actually another you. Just in a different universe-kinda like a dopple ganger with a few personality differences. So, when _I _died, I apparently was transported to this dimension in place of Akari Ayuzawa, who instead, despite being _dead _for ten years, took my place in _my _dimension. I also gained her four years of memories before she died and can apparently speak, read, and _write _Japanese. I'm originally American, by the way."

Everyone stared at her, clearly not believing her, before Reiko spoke in her monotone voice, "She tells the truth."

Alex eyed her strangely, "Um, yeah, I wasn't exactly planning on lying." And Alex will admit, it felt amazing. She could tell the _truth _for once, instead of some lie about being kidnapped by a friend of the murderer or any of that crap. She felt like crying at the relief, but didn't. She wouldn't, in fact, something wouldn't let her. She shrugged, "Honestly, what could I gain by lying to you guys? More guilt on my shoulders?"

"...Did you hear something?" One of the club members asked. Alex blinked and looked up at him confused, only to hear the scream of terrified little girl. A girl that sounded like a female Edward Elric. Alex sweatdropped,

"I think that Tamaki..."

_"NOOOOOOOO! KYOYA! MOMMY, DON'T MAKE ME GO IN THERE!" _

_"You moron, you're the one who wanted to check to see if she was in the Black Magic Club in the first place!" _

_"But it's so SCARY! IT'S CURSED!" _

Alex nodded, sighing as she pressed a hand against her forehead, elbow propped up on her thigh, "Yup, that's Tamaki...And Kyoya-Kyoya!" She stood up, excitement bubbling up inside her for some reason at the thought of the dark haired man, and looked at the door, resisting the urge to run over and open them.

_"Move over, you idiot, clearly your incapable of doing such a simple task of opening one door." _

_"NO! Kyoya, don't! You'll be-" _

The Doors opened, revealing Kyoya standing there in a Sebastian Michaelis cosplay, complete with the tail coat and his bangs positioned to look like Sebastian. What shocked her though, was the fact that he wasn't wearing his glasses. He looked great. Tamaki was behind Kyoya, a hand outstretched towards him with a frightened, desperate look on his face. Tamaki was dressed as the Viscount Druitt.

Alex swallowed, slightly hurt that it was only the two who came to find her, but rather pleased and relieved at the same time that they actually _cared _enough to go and look for her. And then she cracked.

Her laughed echoed around the room as she leaned backwards, arching her back as she clapped her hands on her thighs repeatedly. "The cosplay-_Oh, my god! _They suit you both _perfectly _it's ridiculous!" She paused, still giggling here and there, and eyes Kyoya with a hyper look in her eyes, "Hey, Sebastian, how's Ciel been treating you? 'Cause you're one _Hell _of a Butler!" She laughed again and paused, sighing, and muttering to herself, "Oh, fuck this, I give in. CHARGE!" She quickly bolted towards Kyoya, who barely had time to blink before her had her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. "You, my friend, are officially _amazing!_ You totally pull of the Sebastian look! You are _beautiful_!"

Tamaki looked indignant and left-out, which was proven when he pouted, slumping his shoulders. "What about me?" Alex pulled away from Kyoya slightly, refusing to let go of the tall teenager, and looked at Tamaki with a grin.

"Glorious ,Tamaki, you look glorious. Of course, it's no wonder why you'd be the Viscount Druitt. Fits your character perfectly."

Kyoya reached up and placed a hand on her head, making her look up at him. He said, "We have a cosplay for you as well-the twins..._insisted _upon it, along with Renge and, surprisingly, Haruhi."

"Seriously? What is it?" _Why do I have the feeling I know who it is...Oh, my god, this is amazing! I freaking **love **these guys!_

"AH, Alex! Why did you skip Club activities! The guests were all worried about you!" At this Alex paused and her eyes were quickly covered by her bangs. Without realizing what she was doing, she leaned back into Kyoya and snuggled her face into his chest. She closed her eyes, feeling them start to sting from tears that started to form, and bit her lip, frowning.

She mumbled, loud enough for him and Kyoya to both hear, "If the guests are _so _worried, they should've came to find me instead. Why don't you go back to the rest of Host Club and tell them I died or something? I tripped a fell down the stairs, tell them that. Not like they care." Her grip on Kyoya tightened and she swallowed the lump in her throat. It was then she noticed something-more specifically, his scent.

He wasn't wearing cologne or anything of the sort, which intrigued her slightly. All the guys back in her dimension wore some. That smell...The freshly-showered smell, with a hint of mint. _I never noticed before, but he actually smells really good...Huh. _

"Alex," Tamaki started to exclaim, unable to believe what he was hearing, "why would you say something like that! The entire Host Club was worried about you-" At this, Alex pulled away from Kyoya completely and sent Tamaki a glare,

"If that's _true _then why did only you two come to look for me!? You don't have to hide it, I know I'm not a likable person! I'm obnoxious, I'm annoying, I'm far too sarcastic and childish and everyone hates me! The only people who don't are Kyoya and Haruhi and _they _don't avoid me and at least _try _to converse with me! But nope, you all avoid and not even _speak _to me! Tamaki, admit it, you and the rest of the Host Club, _including _Mitskuni and Mori-_hate _me! It's true, isn't it!? That's why you guys never talk at me! Human feelings are so fragile, make one wrong move or you accidentally snap and the _bam! _They absolutely _despise _you-" Alex's voice cracked and it was then that she realized she was crying. Glaring defiantly and childishly at Tamaki, she bit her lip, furrowing her eyebrows as she clenched her fists, "Everyone hates me. That's a fact. I don't care what you say. Everyone ends up leaving me some time or another. It's only a matter of time before Kyoya _and _Haruhi start to hate me too!" At that, Alex shook her head as she tried to hold back a sob, the tears streaming angrily and hurtfully down her face as she made a break out of the room.

She didn't even realize she left her things behind, she just _ran_.

...

Despite how much Kyoya wanted to chase after her, it wasn't him who needed to make amends. It was Tamaki, the blonde who had a heart of pure gold. Tamaki started at Alex in shock and hurt and disbelief and just...unable to believe what he heard. Alex was never one to snap, and it was barely three days before she snapped for a second time. He seemed to be frozen to the spot. What could he possibly say to convince the young teen that he didn't, or the rest of the club, hate her?

Kyoya moved over to the desk with Alex's drawings and looked at them for a brief moment and then turned to Nekozawa, apologizing, "I'm terribly sorry about this, please forgive Alex. She's in a bit of mood as of current state."

"Kyoya-" Tamaki began, but was cut off by the look Kyoya gave him. He never seen him give him a look like _that _before. His eyes were narrowed, his lips turned down in a frown, and his eyes read something that Tamaki could barely believe.

"Tamaki. Go get her, _now_." The blonde nodded and quickly took off after Alex. Kyoya sighed and rubbed the spot on his nose where he would generally push up his glasses, only to blink and tense when Reiko spoke,

"She's not from here."

Kyoya quickly plastered on a "host" smile and looked at her, "Of course, she's from America. Her name is Alexandra Connors-" He was cut off by Reiko, who shook her head, staring blankly at him.

"She said herself that she is from the eight realm. The crystal does not lie; the girl tells the truth." Could she possibly be any more cryptic?

...

Alex paused in her running, barely registering the agonizing pain in her left foot that seemed to be growing and increasing at the moment, nearly crashing into Alois Trancy and Claude Faustus. Wait, no, Mitskuni and Mori. Mitskuni looked at the girl with wide, alarmed, and worried eyes when he saw her face.

"Lexi-Chan, what's wrong?" Even Mori seemed a little worried, though his face barely changed facial expression. Alex limped backwards, muttering to herself as she stared at them wide eyes.

"Why-Why are you-Why are you out of the Club Room? What are you doing?" Was it Kendo Club? Were they looking for Tamaki and Kyoya? It seemed the most logical reason-

"Alex, there you are!"

"We've been looking all over for you!"

**"Where have you been!?" **Alex whirled around, crying out in protest when she found herself pressed against a wall. Hikaru and Kaoru were dressed as two of the triplet demon butlers, Thompson and Timber. They looked at her, hands on their hips as they leaned towards her, demanding an answer.

"I-I-"

...

"Don't be ludicrous, there's no such thing as other dimension." Kyoya told them, unconvinced. He would rather hear it out of the own girl's mouth rather than some Black Magic Club members, though, if they were saying it was true...Maybe he should listen to the girl. "Now, if you'll excuse, I have a club to return too."

He turned and walked away, ignoring the looks of the Club members that were exchanged.

_Where did those two morons run off too? _

...

Alex ran off, limping again, and crashed. Straight into Ceil. Or Haruhi, to be exact.

"Alex-Where have you been!? We've been searching for you for a whole _hour_!"

"H-Haruhi?" Alex questioned, hanging onto the girl as if she were her lifeline. Haruhi raised an eyebrow at Alex and asked worriedly,

"What happened, Alex? Are you alright?"

"Alex-!" Alex felt arms wrap around her from behind and found herself pulled into a chest. She struggled, screaming. "Alex, calm down! It's me, Tamaki-!"

"Let me go! You all hate me, you know it! _I _know it! Now let me go! You all hate me-everybody hates me! It's _fact_!" She screamed, clearly crying. The rest of the Host Club ran onto the scene, looking at Alex and Tamaki with wide eyes. Alex accidentally kicked Tamaki with her bad foot and screamed, realizing just _how _bad her foot was. "Let me go!"

"We don't _hate _you, Alex!" Tamaki shouted, struggling to get her to _stop _struggling. He grunted, tightening his grip on the girl, and knelt slightly. "We would _never _hate you!"

"Then why did you all avoid me!?" Alex demanded, trying to elbow him in the stomach, to frantic for patience and answers. Tamaki managed to avoid it and quickly managed to hold her arms down, wrapping his arms around her torso and holding her close to him. "Everybody hates me-it's a fact of life! _Let **go** of me, Tamaki!" _

"**_No."_ **He said it with such force and demand that it caused Alex to pause in her struggling, looking at him wide, red eyes. "I am _not _leaving or letting you go until you _accept _the fact that we don't hate you."

Alex glared at him, though it didn't look as venomous as she had hoped it would, and growled through gritted teeth, "**You. Hate. Me." **

Tamaki snapped, glaring at the girl, "Stop trying to enforce your opinions of yourself onto other people! Really, for being someone who hangs out with Kyoya during lunch and club time all the time, you are an _**idiot!**_" The strength and emphasis he used on that word made _sure _she couldn't move. She was shocked to the core. "We would _never _hate you Alex, even if you were a zombie or an alien or anything _different_! Get your head out of the gutter!"

"B-But, you-"

"Alex," Haruhi spoke, raising a hand and gently placing it on the frantic girl's left shoulder, "We're your friends.'

"Haru-Chan is right, Lexi-Chan!" Mitskuni spoke, nodding his head in a "That's right" and "I told you so" manner. "Friends don't hate each other! They like each other very, very much! Now, when we get back to the Club Room, we're all going to have cake and enjoy it like friends do!"

But they all hate her...Why are they trying so hard to-

"Alex, honestly," Hikaru began, crossing his arms as he gave her a scolding look, "if Hikaru and I hated you, we would've kicked you out of the mansion ages ago."

"Hikaru's right, Alex." Kaoru told her, a soft look on his face-one of a brother worried for his sister, "We don't hate you. In fact, we all were worried when you didn't come to the club room-we though something had happened."

Alex didn't believe them; she _couldn't_. If she did, then she'd just get hurt even more when-

"Moron." She flinched when she felt Kyoya's fist bop her upside the head. "How many times do they have to tell you before you get it in your thick skull?"

She looked up at him with teary eyes and swallowed.

"Yeah," Mori agreed in his deep voice. Only word he said, yet it was what caused her second breakdown.

And the leading of her to the Host Club to get dressed in red cosplay.

Oh, yes. Ladies and gents, readers of all sexes and age, She was _Grell Sutcliff_. The best Grim Reaper of all time.

...

"No. Nope, nope, nope, nope, no. No way. I don't see him like that-I'm _not _going to do it. Screw you." Alex's mood was still slightly bitter, if not _much_, _much _better than it was before. But now her mood was decreasing-mainly from embarrassment at the thought of doing _that _with Kyoya.

The female guest, Akiko, pleaded, "C'mon, _please_! I'm a major fan of the shipping! SebastianxGrell all the way!" She clasped her hands together, hearts in her eyes, "Besides, you should hear what people talk about when it comes to you and Kyoya."

Alex looked at her confused, "What do you mean?" Akiko stood and walked over, whispering,

"There's a rumor going around about you and Kyoya-Sempai."

"Yeah...So? What that rumor got to do with me and Kyoya?" At this, Kyoya lifted his head up and stared at Alex and Akiko, listening intently. Akiko was whispering quietly, but loud enough for some eavesdroppers to hear.

Akiko moved back and looked at her in surprise, "I figured you'd at least know about what it was about!" She exclaimed. Alex blinked and started to grow irritated,

"Nope. Now tell me," _Please don't be about what I think it is... _

"You and Kyoya! Come on, Alex, put the pieces together!" Akiko exclaimed, "There's a new fan pairing in the club about you and Kyoya being together! Kyolendra, or Aloya, or maybe even Kyolex. No! Wait, Kyolexis! No...Argh, why must your name be of American descent!? Um, okay, I got it. What about; Aleko?"

"In all honestly, I prefer Aloya, but there's _nothing _between me and Kyoya!" She exclaimed, running a hand through her "Grell" styled hair. She wasn't wearing a wig, but the twins _did _make sure to make her hair at least resemble Grell's in style. "And I am _not _doing a GrellxBassy act with him! That-That'd be-"

"What?" She prompted.

"Embarrassing!" Her face was already turning red.

"Why not? Oh, I know! I'll pay the Host Club double next time I request you?"

"Nope."

"Triple?"

"No-" Alex was cut off by a gloved hand snaking its way over her mouth. Her eyes widened when she realized exactly _who _the hand belonged too. The size was a bit too small to be Tamaki's, way too small to be Mori's, bigger than Hikaru and Kaoru's, and certainly bigger than Haruhi's. Kyoya smiled at Akiko, saying,

"She would love too. After all, she _does _have a love for the anime. And last time I checked," His rather pretty grey-brown eyes flashed mischievously. He maneuvered his way around to look Alex straight in the eye, slowly removing his gloved hand from Alex's mouth and resting his rather big hands on her much smaller ones, "she told me she was a rather big fan of Sebastian Michaelis."

Half of the girls in the room stopped to see what Kyoya and Alex were doing and were trying hard not to squeal. The SebastianxCeil shippers pouted and frowned, but still watched curiously nonetheless. Akiko let out small squeal of shock and surprise-this was _not _what she asked for, but was possibly just as good.

"B-But, "Bassy"," She put on her best "gay" voice looking at him with eyes and a red face, "You-You _are _Sebastian Michaelis!" She then dropped her voice to a whisper, narrowing her eyes as she stared into his, surprisingly beautiful, eyes, "Move back to your spot and then play along, kay? Remember to act like Sebastian, or at least yourself. You're both pretty much close in character."

She swore something flashed in his eyes at that moment, 'cause _something _made her want to lean forward and-She didn't know. Kyoya removed himself from her and strolled back to his station, many of the fans sighing disappointment. Alex stood suddenly, leaning on her right foot as she declared, clamping her hands together, "Oh, "Bassy"! Come give me a hug!" She charged, limp running, towards the man with arms spread, her red coat flaring out behind her as she ran. Once she was close enough, she jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling it. "Oh, "Bassy", such a romantic tale ours is! Like "_Romeo and Juliet" _Only better!"

"Grell, please, remove yourself from me at once," Sebastian spoke, er-Kyoya, spoke, wrapping an arm around Alex's waist. He leaned forward and whispered into her ear, voice slightly deeper, "less I manage to lose control."

Alex, his breathe tickling her ear, repressed a shiver. She tensed at that and Kyoya seemed to notice, smirking against her ear-_actually _making her shiver. _Damn it, what is he doing to me? He's-Oh, my god. He's enjoying this, isn't he? Yeah, well, time for the big guns, then! He won't be so happy after this! _

"Oh, _Bassy_, really, must we always do such things in private? I much more enjoy it in the _public_," She leaned up close to his face, trying ignore the bubbly feeling in her stomach and the quickened pace of her heart rate, "After all, we are simply _made_ for one another! Now," She leaned up so that their noses were barely touching, "Let us invoke in a passionate kiss to unite ourselves together!" _Ha! Like to see what he'd do now! Not so enjoying it, are you? _

She did not expect Kyoya to lean in close, lips hovering over hers ghostly as he whispered, "Now, Grell, don't be so impatient, we have all _night _to do such things, but if you insist..." Alex's face was as red as he coat by then and her mouth went dry. Her lips felt dry, so she licked them, and she _swore _she could hear the girls' fangirling in the background.

Alex tried to smirk, but ended up smiling because of her embarrassment, revealing her "pointy" teeth. Through her glasses, she stared at Kyoya's eyes, which seem to form _many_, _many _emotions, but only one she could not identify. She swallowed and said, licking her lips again as though they were chapped, "Really, Sebas-chan, you shouldn't _tease _me. You know how much I go _crazy _when you do." She saw something in Kyoya's eyes darken and Alex, uncertain of what it was, decided to stop with the act and pulled away at breakneck speed.

She bowed to the guests as if to say, "Thank you, audience" and started to limp back to her table, only to pause when someone grabbed her arm and whirled her around.

Daichi Yoshida watched with narrowed eyes from the audience, a dark aura suddenly surrounding him. Kyoya quickly released Alex, leaving her a bright red color and deeply confused and shocked, and looked around the audience for one Daichi Yoshida. He smirked, locking his eyes with the brunette's.

The fangirls seemed to have either fainted or were just screaming from excitement. They never noticed the dark aura surrounding the two men.

Alex did and stood, a hand clasped over her mouth as she looked back and forth between them in confusion, trying to figure out what they were silently arguing about. They were obviously challenging each other over _something_, she just couldn't figure out what.

Daichi received the message loud and clear, for he glared at Kyoya.

Kyoya continued to smirk, his gaze never leaving Daichi. Daichi wasn't going to take the challenge-_no_, no, because Kyoya _wanted _him to take the challenge and he was _not _going to give him the satisfaction of a battle.

Alex barely had time to blink before she was tackled by a squealing Akiko, "That was _beautiful! _I mean, I never asked for you guys to kiss but I'm gonna pay you even more for that! Oh, that was amazing! My fangirl dreams have come true!"

Alex sweatdropped at her friend's antics, saying, "Your dream, my nightmare." Alex was _still _trying to calm her racing heart. _He probably only did that for the extra profit-he **knew **Akiko was going to pay more. Yeah, okay, sounds like him. No need to worry. _But she still felt thirsty, so, she headed to the kitchen to get her some water. _Why on earth is there a kitchen in a Music Room anyway? Honestly... _She ignored the slight feeling of disappointment that hit her and she tensed, her face horror-struck. _No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! No! I don't like-I can't like, shit, what have I got myself into? I can't like **Kyoya **of all people, can I? I like-I liked Liam!_ She paused, realizing her thoughts. She _liked _him. Past tense. So does this mean that... _I don't like Liam anymore? God damn it, I hate my life. _She scowled to herself and quickly downed the cup of water.

For the rest of the day, she was left humming "So in love with two" and hating herself for it.

The message hung in the air, unnoticed by all but two.

_She's_ _**mine**__._

****So, in terms that I can understand it (XD) Kyoya kissed Alex like that just to prove "ownership" of Alex. Scorpios are generally very possessive, and jealous characters. He was still peeved from the Daichi and Alex kiss-er, just their relationship in general. Haha! My "present" and "please forigve me for not updating" gift to you all! See, see, how you like? You like it? Fluff! Always at least one hard-core fangirl. And Alex is starting to realize her feelings for Kyoya, hah!****


	13. The trio fights

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila. I don't own any anime or their characters. I only own Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler references.**

**March 2. 6:50 A.M.**

Alex snuggled into her sheets happily, her bed soft and inviting. And her bed wasn't _too _soft-no, it was just the right amount of soft for her to consider it comfortable. The blankets were a black silk-damn rich people- and the sheets were a TARDIS blue. The pillows seemed to be combined of the two colors. She sighed happily, stuck in a happy dream land that she rarely gets.

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP- _Alex groaned and slammed her hand down on the clock, pressing each button slowly to turn off the wretched noise. After one or two minutes of fumbling about, she turned it off and face-planted back into her pillows and stuffed animals. Hugging close to a stuffed bee, she sighed happily as she started to enter back into her dream state...

The door slammed open with a half-dressed Hikaru and Kaoru charging towards her and jumping onto her bed, causing her to scream and thrash about. **"Wakie-wakie, eggs and bakey, Alex!**" They sang as they tried to pull the cover off of her. She cried out in protest and quickly threw the bee at him, screaming,

"No! Let me sleep!" Kaoru quickly got off the bed with a grin and moved over to open the curtains, which happened to be a light see-through blue, and let light pour into the room. Alex groaned and quickly shoved a pillow into Hikaru's face, grabbing another and smothering it on her own. "Shove off-!" She whimpered and curled into a ball, going into defensive position.

"Come on, Alex, you need to get ready for school!" Hikaru told her, smirking as he poked her side and caused her to jump, reaching out with a foot to kick him in the face. He squeaked and quickly ducked, reaching out a hand to catch her foot. "Ticklish?"

Alex froze and grounded her teeth together, narrowing her eyes darkly as she removed her face from her pillow and glared at him darkly-mood soured by the morning. "Don't. You. _Dare_." Hikaru noticed the dark aura surrounding her and tensed, a small twinge of fear passing through him.

_Kyoya's been rubbing off on her... _That was when he realized; everywhere Kyoya was seen, Alex was there next to him. You never found one without the other except for class time. Kyoya worked with the club's budget and making sure that they never entered debt, and Alex helped him alongside to make sure the rest of the Host Club didn't screw everything up. Somehow, one way or another, Alex managed to get onto Kyoya's good side and followed him like a shadow-_No, not a shadow... _He observed Alex intently, trying to figure out what it was.

Alex's hair, always tangled as it was so thick, was all over the place. Her eyes were narrowed and glaring at Hikaru-only to widen and let out a shriek when Kaoru tackled her and startled to tickle her sides, sending her into laughter fits as she thrashed about, trying to get away. Hikaru was trying to figure it out.

If she wasn't a shadow, what was she?

"Let-let me go! I-I can't-I can't-_breathe_!" Kaoru released her with a grin and she gasped for air, panting as she laid sprawled across her bed in her pjs. She glared at the twins after she caught her breathe, "You two are jerks, you know that?"

"What; and the Shadow King isn't?" Hikaru asked, merely teasing her. Alex sat up straight at that, looking at him intensely and straight in the eyes.

"He isn't evil. Just manipulative. Besides, evil people generally have more fangirls then the bad guys," She raised her arms up in a shrug, grinning as she was now wide awake, "I mean, look at Loki for instance. He's evil but hot as hell and freaking _adorable_ and sorry, that was from a fanfiction I read. But, point being," She pointed at them, trying to act serious but failing as a smile spread across her face, "He's got loads and loads of fangirls. Oh, my god! Remember Sherlock Holmes and Watson and Ironman? Yeah, they're awesome." She grinned goofily at that and the brothers' shook their heads at the girl.

**"Otaku..." **She pounded her fist on her chest a few times before giving them a thumbs up,

"Proud of it!" She barely had time to blink before Hikaru went through her closet and threw one of his uniform blazers at her, including the shirt, tie, and pants.

"Just get dressed." He told her, rolling her eyes as he hid a chuckle, heading out of the room. Alex's face went red at that and she growled, glaring,

"Says you! Put a shirt on! Same thing to you, Kaoru!" Kaoru gave her cheeky grin, mock-saluting on his way out,

"Yes, ma'am, right away, ma'am!" And the door. Alex huffed and gave a loud yawn, stretching before falling onto her bed on her back.

"I want to sleep..."

Her "Personal" maid from before entered the room, grey eyes glinting mischievously when she caught sight of Alex stuck in the sheets. "Ah, Miss Alex, I'm afraid that it's time for you to get your shower." Alex looked up alarmed at that, eyes wide. She quickly scuffled backwards on her bed and pressed her back against the bedframe, eyes wide in fear. Don't get her wrong, Alex _loved _taking baths and showers and having someone else wash her hair, but...

"N-No, I'm good! I can do it! Stay back! No! Back! Don't-Don't _touch _me!" She started to scream, standing as Misaki neared her. "_Noooooo!" _

...

"Alex!" The brunette almost dropped her tray as a pale of tan arms wrapped around. "Where have you been!? I haven't seen you in ages!" Alex squirmed slightly in Daichi's grip, the male brunette not that taller than her.

"Um, the cafeteria?" Alex replied in confusion as she tried to worm out of the boy's grip, "Can you let go, please?" She had to remind herself to be polite, otherwise she may end up sounding rude-wait, too late. Alex flinched at her words.

Daichi refused to release the girl, arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders, "Never! I haven't seen you in ages!"

"You saw me, like, five minutes ago in the classroom." She just wanted to head to the lunch table with Kyoya and Tamaki and the twins' and eat. She then froze and her whole body tensed at a memory that flashed through her head.

_It was for profit. Profit, profit, profit-nothing more, nothing less. Profit. _She tried to calm her racing heart and the stupid bubbly excitement feeling that was twirling around in her stomach. _Okay, no. No, no, no, I don't like Kyoya and **damn it **Daichi, _"Let go of me!" She exclaimed, trying to walk forwards but was being held it place. She grounded her teeth together in annoyance, "Daichi..."

"But I never got to hug you like this before!"

"Yes, well," Alex never got to finish for Daichi released her almost instantly and she stumbled, headfirst into a _very _familiar chest that was accompanied by that freshly-showered and mint scent. She tensed, only to quickly relax. She was just...comfortable. _Ooookay, bad thoughts! Very bad thoughts! _"Hello!" She greeted, raising her voice slightly at the sudden rescue. "What's up?" She almost flinched at the squeakiness of her voice. _Don't like him. I will **not **like him. No way. _

"The "King" was getting worried so he sent me to come check on you," Kyoya replied and Alex ignored the slight sting in her chest at the words "King was getting worried" and "he sent me". So Kyoya wasn't worried about her at all, then... "I must say, it was a rather good thing that he did. Otherwise who knew how long he would have kept you in that position," He looked down at Alex and gave her shit-eating grin, clearly irritated about something. For a brief moment, Alex wondered if it was about Daichi hugging her, then took the thought of her head.

_No way, he doesn't-wouldn't like me that. And I am NOT going through this again-Brain. Shut up. _Alex sighed, ignoring the smell of the heavenly food.

Daichi responded in slight annoyance, "'He" happens to be in the room and "he" doesn't appreciate being talked about as if he was not here!"

Kyoya barely seemed to pay him any mind as he released Alex, before placing a hand on the small of her back and making her jump slightly, ticklish. Kyoya looked at with slight wide eyes before gaining his trademark smirk. Storing that bit of information in his brain for later, he started to lead Alex away towards the lunch table, calling over his shoulder to Daichi, "My deepest apologies if I have offended you," leaving a fuming Daichi Yoshida behind.

Alex merely blinked and sat down, oddly missing the warmth from Kyoya's hand being pressed against her back. Quickly trying to distract herself, she grabbed her fork and stabbed a piece of steak, quickly sticking it into her mouth and chewing, looking only down at her tray.

She could feel the gray-brown eyes staring intently at her.

...Music Room #3-3:12 P.M...

"I still think it turned out great," Alex commented to Hikaru and Kaoru, talking about the photoshop manip of Haruhi. "Though, when you used Tamaki's body it made her look a bit taller..."

"HIKARU! KAORU!" Their conversation was cut off when Tamaki barged straight into the club room, fuming, "I left you both in charge of the Host Club's website because you promised to do it seriously!" His fists were shaking in barely controlled anger.

Hikaru, who sitting at the free-use computer at the desk, looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He propped an elbow up on the desk, his other on his thigh with his chin resting on his fist, "We take out job _very _seriously, boss."

Kaoru nodded as he waved a hand dismissively at the blonde, "In fact, we worked on it 'till dawn."

"They would've stayed up longer _if _I didn't wake up in the middle of the night and force them to go to bed." Alex said, scowling at the memory. They took their revenge this morning when they forced her to get up. "I still think the body and head are proportioned wrong since Haruhi has a smaller body than the one they used. She looks too tall and too muscular in the picture."

Tamaki continued to fume, shaking furiously as he glared daggers at the twins.

"To create," Hikaru continued, completely ignoring Tamaki's anger, sitting up straight and pressing a button on the keyboard, "_this _masterpiece-Haruhi's composite photograph." Haruhi was shirtless and surprisingly muscular in the photo, smiling as she held up her unbuttoned pants.

"We even gave her a retro-phrase." Kaoru added, grinning.

Around Haruhi, it said, _"I'm great when I take off my outfit" _and she had a blooming red rose background.

"And, to top it all off," Hikaru continued with a mischievous grin, "We even did one for Alex." Alex looked at them alarmed with wide eyes,

"Wait, what? You're joking, right?"

**"Nope," **The twins told her with grins, about to show her the picture when Haruhi and Mitskuni ran over to gap at the picture, Haruhi turned to stone.

"Haru-Chan, you look so cool!" Mitskuni declared, eyes wide as pink flowers bloomed around him, pressing his hands against his cheeks in awe.

"Alex, I believe this is what they were talking about." She turned her head to look at Kyoya, who had his laptop turned around to face her. Red quickly formed on her face in embarrassment and complete, and utter, horror.

She had her arms out to her sides as if she was running, wearing a sleeveless green sundress that flared out at her waist and stopped at her knees. Due to her position of running, the dress was spinning around her and moved like it would in a breeze, flying up and spinning around till it stopped at mid-thigh. She was smiling with a small blush on her face.

It was terrifying. _I look terrible-I mean, I knew that I always looked bad in pictures but with the scars I look even worse, add to the fact that I'm in a dress! _Alex almost flinched at how bad she looked. She felt a tick mark form on her head and growled, clenching her fists as she grounded her teeth together, "Hikaru, Kaoru..._what the Hell is this!?" _

"You, obviously."

"Yeah."

"That is _not _me!" Alex argued, pointing at the screen, "I look worse in that picture than I usually do!"

**"You look fine to us," **They replied and Alex faltered, not really having a comeback to that. Still...

"Well, just-just don't-Don't go photoshopping pictures of me!"

"Or me, for that matter." Haruhi added in her ten cents, "I'd rather _not _get naked pictures of me plastered everywhere on the internet."

**"Haruhi! Can we go over to your house and play?" **

"No."

**"Please?"**

"No."

**"Why not?" **

"You'll only make fun of me." She replied easily, knowing the twins well enough.

**"Then can we spread rumors of you being a girl?" **

Haruhi sweatdropped, stress lines forming on her face, "Just what do you guys take me for?" They both grinned, eyes flashing mischievously,

**"Isn't it obvious? You're our 'toy." **

Alex was still glaring at the picture that Kyoya brought up on his laptop when they said that. She lifted her head up, eyes wide in surprise as she turned her head to look at the twins, "Seriously? Yes!" She pumped a fist in the air, grinning widely, "That means you can't make fun of me anymore! I'm no longer your "toy"! Woo!"

Haruhi looked at Alex briefly, wondering if she should be worried for her own wellbeing or not at the prospect of being the Hitachiin twins' "toy".

Kyoya pulled his laptop back to him, turning off the image and moving back to the documents he was working. He barely cast Alex a look as he spoke, "You realize that Hikaru and Kaoru still consider you a toy, seeing how that they will refuse to have just one?"

"I'm not that entertaining, though!" She protested, turning around to look at him. Kyoya, with his trademark smirk and his eyes hidden behind his glasses, replied easily,

"I beg to differ."

"I am not a toy!"

"Toy? Toy?" She blinked. Everyone turned their heads to look at Nekozawa who had peered in through the Black Magic Club door that was connected to the Host Club room. "If you like toys, you should come join my club." Alex grinned madly at the sight of the blonde.

"Nekozawa!" She exclaimed, rushing over to tackle the blonde in a hug. He tensed at the people-contact and greeted awkwardly, not very sociable with people and just plain bad at talking with people,

"Hello, Alex...Have you reconsidered my offer?" Alex released him, ignoring Tamaki's frantic screams to move away from Nekozawa, and shook her head apologetically.

"Sorry. Honestly, I _would _join your club," Tamaki screeched like a banshee at that, "but I'm already in the Host Club. How's your club going?"

"Horrifically _wonderful_," He replied, grinning creepily as he made Beelzenef move his arms. She looked at the puppet and grinned, "Beelzenef says, "Hello"."

Her grin widened; Beelzenef was _adorable! _"Well, tell Beelzenef I say "hi" back."

"Alex~! Get away from him! You'll be _cursed_!" Tamaki shouted, stretching a hand towards the girl from his spot next to Kyoya. "Quickly-Alex!"

"I'll be fine!" She waved him off. Nekozawa tilted his head and turned to look at the rest of the Host Club, his creepy grin growing.

"Currently we're organizing the world's ancient magical artifacts exhibition." He told them, attempting to convince them to join his club, "If you join now, we'll also throw in a wonderful cursed voodoo doll. _I am waiting for all of you..." _

"Why must he come out of the shadows?" Haruhi questioned as she sweatdropped, slightly frightened by the strange behavior. How was Alex chatting so easily with him-?

"Nekozawa-Sempai doesn't like the light," Kyoya said as he stood and walked over to stand next to the short brunette, "it's said to shorten lives."

Haruhi didn't notice when Tamaki walked up behind her and whispered, his breathe tickling her ear and neck, "_You must not partake in his life. If you do, you're sure to be cursed." _Haruhi jumped, startled as shivers ran down her spine. She turned to look back at him, only to find him gone and trying to get Alex to back away from him. "Get back here! You'll be cursed!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Never!"

"Yes!"

"Oh, yeah! Nekozawa," The dark-clothed man turned to look at her curiously, "I'll visit your club later, kay?"

Beelzenef clapped his hands together, a small smile on the puppet's face. Nekozawa spoke, still grinning creepily, "Of course..." He dragged it out a bit for a dramatic effect, "_The Black Magic Club will always welcome you... _We'll thrown in a free Beelzenef as a welcoming gift? All you have to do is write the name of someone you hate on the cursed doll's back and that person will be sure to come face-to-face with..._misfortune_."

"Wow, this person really is dark," Hikaru commented in slight surprise, arms crossed as he stood, "And in more ways than one."

Kaoru, a hand on his hip, said, "Supposedly he hates bright lights...I wonder what he'll think of this." He held up a red flashlight and turned it on. Nekozawa screamed in pain and fear when Hikaru and Kaoru shined their red flashlights on him.

"_AHHHHHHH! YOU MURDEEEEEERRRRRRSSSSS!" _Nekozawa screeched as he quickly back into his club room, slamming the door behind him. They looked at each other and shrugged, Alex looking at them irritated.

"What was _that _for? He didn't do anything to you."

**"We were bored." **They replied and looked at her suspiciously, **"You like Kyoya, why are you being so buddy-buddy with Nekozawa-Sempai?" **

Alex clenched her fists in aggravation, pissed off at the constant accusations, "I _don't _like Kyoya!" _Yes, I do-No! Stop it! I don't! _"Nekozawa is a friend! Get your facts straight!"

They stared at her with blank faces, unconvinced. Tamaki quickly cried out in horror and anger,

"Hikaru! Kaoru! What did you just do!?" He stopped shouting and held a hand up to his mouth, stress lines forming on the side of his face, "Clearly you two haven't experienced the true terror of Black Magic!" Sweat beaded down in his face as he recalled his, rather unfortunate, plights.

"Do you have any basis for that?" Haruhi questioned, trembling slightly. She swallowed, trying to calm herself. It wasn't _real_, right?

"Yes! It happened during the end of the exams in the last school year! It's terrifying just to _talk _about it!" He cried out and hugged himself, shivering from fear. He was truly terrified, "It was on that very day that it happened! I accidentally stepped on his cursed doll, _Beelzenef! _Afterwords, I went to take my test and the words were all in some strange lettering! They were illogical incantations, probably a curse! Realizing how suspicious it was, I looked around me in the classroom at the students, and realized I knew _none _of them! _I was all alone in a different dimension!" _

Alex tensed at that and Kyoya noticed, glasses flashing slightly at he observed her behavior. He remembered Reiko's words...

_"She's not from here." _

_"She said herself that she is from the eight realm. The crystal does not lie; the girl tells the truth." _

Kyoya quickly pulled out his book and wrote something down, telling Tamaki, "That only happened because you were so scared, that you accidentally walked into the beginning Greek Class and took the exam."

Tamaki shook his head frantically, fingers curling at the horrifying memory as he protested loudly, "No! It was a curse! I know because I woke up three days later and my legs were as heavy as led!"

Alex sweatdropped and rubbed her left arm nervously. _This conversation is going nowhere... _

"Did that really happen to you?" Haruhi questioned, voice trembling ever-so-slight.

"Scary!" Mitskuni cried out, tears in his eyes.

Kyoya held his index finger up as he said, "That's because we ran a marathon the day before, remember?" Haruhi knew straight away that she didn't want to be associated with Nekozawa. Alex, walking over to Haruhi, asked in confusion,

"Am I the only one who isn't afraid of Nekozawa?"

Haruhi eyed her strangely for a moment before nodding, "Possibly."

**"Come to think of it," **The twins began, faces completely serious, **"All those who speak ill of Nekozawa-Sempai, their ***will change to ***."**

Tamaki started to freak out instantly, tears streaming down his face, "WAAAAAAHHH! HARUHI! QUICK! CHECK DADDY'S ***! DADDY'S GOING TO DIE!" He started to take his clothes off and Mitskuni shrieked.

"WAAAH! TAMA-CHAN, YOU CAN'T STRIP HERE!"

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Haruhi shrieked, covering her eyes as tears formed. Mori stood their in the background, completely silent.

"You're completely moronic." Kyoya stated, not knowing what else to say. Tamaki sniffled as he put his jacket back on, still freaking out about dying.

**"That's impossible, you know." **Hikaru and Kaoru deadpanned, **"Kyoya's right, you're moronic." **They sighed as they moved over to the window, sitting down. **"There's really nothing to do these days..." **Alex grinned, muttering,

"Light bulb..." And moved over to Hikaru and Kaoru, whispering something to them. They looked at her for a brief moment, interested. The brothers' looked at each, having a silent conversation with their eyes, before nodding. Alex grinned.

**"Haruhi _has _also gotten used to all the club activities." **They added in unison, thoughtful and bored.

_After six months, _Alex added in her head.

"Hikaru, Kaoru," Tamaki spoke, "Come here."

...Hikaru and Kaoru were quickly forced into the Ouran sweaters and were handed mops and brooms. Hikaru had a piece of paper that was taped to his chest that said, _"No talking allowed. No movement." _Kaoru's read, _"Prohibited from having customers for two days. By King." _

Alex and Haruhi sweatdropped, not sure of what to say. Haruhi looked at the twins and questioned, "When are you two going to stop throwing tantrums?" They were sulking, stress lines on their faces.

Alex looked at the brunette with raised eyebrows, "Um, you _do _realize that's impossible, right? Their middle name _is _tantrum."

**"Then let us go to your house and play!" **They argued, trying to persuade Haruhi.

"Never." At Tamaki's explanation of the ingredients of Bufforin, Alex felt her eyebrow twitch.

"Wrong." She muttered to herself. _He has it all wrong..._

"Haruhi! Alex!" A guest called over. "We all know that the twin with the right parting is Hikaru, and the one with the left parting is Kaoru, but are there any other differentiating factors?"

"Kaoru's more friendly?" Alex suggested, though let Haruhi answer most of it.

"Let's see, how do I put it..." Haruhi figured it out and held up her index finger, "Hikaru's speech and actions make him a little more mischievous than Kaoru."

Kaoru snorted and quickly placed a hand over his mouth, trying to hide his laughter at Hikaru's shocked face. He tried to apologize, still snickering, "I'm sorry, Hikaru, I don't mean to laugh!" He ended up bending over as he laughed, arms resting on his legs.

Hikaru closed his eyes as he lifted his head up indignantly, a hand resting on the armrest, "Well, _I _don't see what's so funny. I'm honest, I speak my mind, and I don't hold back!"

Alex made a gesture with her head as if saying, _"That's true..."_

Hikaru then added, causing Kaoru to stop laughing abruptly, "It's sneaky people like Kaoru who are the trouble makers."

Kaoru sat up straight, giving his brother a dark look, "Don't turn this on me, Hikaru. After all, I'm the one who's always going along with all of your selfish games."

"_I _may be the brain behind the plots, the one who deeply planned every execution is you, Kaoru. If you don't like it, then don't do it, fool." Hikaru replied, leaning back against the couch and resting his arms behind it.

Kaoru crossed his arms and legs, not looking at his brother, "You're so silly, it's pathetic. I can't take it lying down. I'd _hate _to see you make an ass of yourself in front of everyone. After all, it was _your _idea in the first place to call Haruhi and Alex our toys."

Alex looked slightly surprised at that, not expecting herself to get put in the argument. Then again, she _did _suggest they mock-fight... _Okay, either they're fighting for real, or they are **really **good actors. _

"I also noticed you were quick to make a pass at Haruhi," Kaoru continued, "Admit it Hikaru, you're actually in love with her. Aren't you?" Hikaru gasped, a red blush coating his cheeks as he looked at Haruhi alarmed.

"Huh!?"

"What!?" Tamaki demanded, not liking the way this argument was turning.

"You got it all wrong, Kaoru! Man, you're such a freaking idiot!"

Tamaki agreed wholeheartedly, running over to the back of the couch and looking at them with wide eyes, "Yeah! There are some things in this world that must _never _be said!"

"I mean, why would I fall for her? She looks like a _tanuki_."

"How dare you call her a raccoon dog!" Tamaki fumed, ready to sock Hikaru in the face.

"And what about Alex? I mean, you're always touching her!" Hikaru continued, causing Alex to groan and drag a hand down her face.

Kyoya looked up at the twins, his eyes hidden behind his glasses, so one could not decipher his true expression. Alex stormed up to the twins, though not really angry just playing along.

"I'm sorry, but I'd rather not be brought into this argument!"

**"Tell that to him!" **The twins growled, turning their heads to glare at each other. **"He started the whole thing!" **

"You both started it!" Alex fired back, acting angered. "Now stop being idiots and make-up already!"

**"No!" **

"Awesome! Just awesome!" Renge cried out into a microphone, the sound of a powerful motor echoing around the room as Renge appeared on a stage, "This is just perfect! Our lovely Haruhi and Alex are both in the middle of love triangles-and it's a quagmire plot that two of them are twin brothers! Just the thought of it could make me eat three _giant _bowls of _rice_!"

Alex looked at her strangely and said, "Renge, sweetie, as much as I love you-no. _Hell _no. I don't like Kyoya, I don't like Kaoru-Kaoru sure as _hell _doesn't like me, and Kyoya most definitely doesn't like me." _Though sometimes I wonder... No. No way. He wouldn't. Get those damn thoughts **out **of your head! No way in hell would anyone like someone like you. _

**"Butt out, Otaku." **Hikaru and Kaoru growled at her.

Renge burst out crying, "You guys are so mean! You shouldn't say something like that to your manager!" She whined.

"But Renge," Tamaki said with a slight sweatdrop, extending a hand to the young girl, "I thought you had feelings for Haruhi and Kyoya as well?"

"Oh, I do-for Haruhi at least. I gave up on Kyoya." She told Tamaki as she gained stars in her eyes, "But I have no problem with Haruhi having a homosexual relationship on the side!" Tamaki's sweatdrop grew more prominent.

"I'm confused," Haruhi spoke, slouching as she looked at Renge, "I thought you decided to move back to France, Renge."

Renge looked at Haruhi with a slight blush, embarrassed at being caught, "Well, I was going to start a Host Club up on my own, but...I don't think France is ready for a Host Club just yet." Haruhi sweatdropped, stress lines forming.

"Cut it out already!" Hikaru demanded, causing Alex and Kaoru to glare at him. "You're always the one crawling into my bed-talk about annoying!"

"I only do that because you look lonely!" Kaoru argued.

"Will you two stop arguing already!? It's giving me a headache!" Alex demanded, a tick mark forming on her face.

**"It's giving _you _a headache!?"** They demanded before glaring at each other, **"Stop that! Stop it! Quit! RAAAARGH!" **

"Stop mimicking me!"

"You're the one who started it!"

"You both started it and _I'm _ending it!"

**"Shut up, shortie!" **Alex fumed at that, grinding her teeth together as she frowned deeply, before screaming at them,

"Gingers!" Everyone paused at that and looked at her in surprise. Alex almost flinched at the insult she came up with, _I used to call Liam that... _

"Klutz," Hikaru spoke, scowling at her.

Kaoru grimaced and glared, "Midget!"

"Baka!" She paused, realizing she just insulted them in Japanese when she _was _speaking in Japanese... Okay, different insult, "Ah-Freak!"

"Your math skills are pathetic!" Hikaru insulted, glaring at _both _her and Kaoru.

"At least _I'm _good at English, you freaking tall-stick!" Alex was trying her hardest not to curse at them.

"Yeah, _you're _the one failing your foreign language class!" Kaoru glared at Hikaru, nodding in agreement with Alex. "And-and tall-stick, _really_?" He looked at her incredulously, as did Hikaru. Alex shrugged, smiling up at them sheepishly.

"Would you have rather me called you and asshole?"

"He would _deserve _it!" Kaoru snapped, starting up the whole argument again.

Kyoya stared at them intently for a few moments, eyes hidden behind his glasses, before writing something down in his deathnote-_He's not gonna kill us, is he? Was he memorizing our faces!? Shit. _

"The way you grind your teeth is definitely-"

"At least I don't toss and turn so much that I fall out of bed!"

"Hikaru and Kaoru's appearance." Mori spoke briefly and calmly. Mitskuni nodded in agreement, awed.

"It's exactly the same, even when they're fighting." Haruhi sweatdropped, not understanding just _one _thing...

"Why is Alex fighting with them?"

"Guys, come on-" Tamaki tried, raising a hand up, only to get cut off.

"Sex-pixie!"

"Sicko!"

"_Gingers!" _She inhaled deeply, ignoring the feeling of excitement that grew as she shouted, lightning flashing between all three of them,

**"_Your momma wears too much makeup!"_ **It was _really _hard to keep a straight face during all of this, but Alex managed. Her voice almost cracked from held-back laughter when she shouted, but she managed to look and sound angry, **"That's _it! _We're over!" **

The three glared heatedly at each other before whirling around and storming away.

"Did..." A guest started uncertainly, "Did the three of them just break-up?" A boy looked at the girl in confusion.

"They were never dating..."

"They live together though, it became a known fact that Alex was, with a bit of disagreement, a part of their brotherly love." She replied, causing several other girls to nod in agreement, "There's rumors about her getting adopted by Yuzuha Hitachiin and her husband." The boy blinked.

* * *

The stormed into the limo, Alex sitting in the middle angrily with Hikaru on her right and Kaoru on her left. Flames and lightning continued to crackle and everyone watched them worriedly as the limo drove off. Once they drove away, Hikaru and Kaoru looked at Alex with raised eyebrows and questioned,

**"Ginger? Really?" **Alex felt her face heat up in embarrassment and exclaimed, covering her face with her hands,

"I don't _know_! I don't-I-I just-I don't know! Okay? I had a friend who was a ginger and I called him "ginger" when he called me "short" or "clumsy", okay!? I also sometimes called him "Glasses" or "Glasses character" only to have him throw back that I also wore glasses."

They glanced at the girl confused. Hikaru stated, "You don't wear glasses."

"I _did_. I also sometimes wore contacts when I wasn't being lazy. S'what happens when you isolate yourself in your room 24/7 with your laptop." She smiled at the memory, "So much fanfiction...Shit! I still need to catch up on _Psych! _I wonder what happened during the musical episode...?" That was the only episode she has _not _seen. "

Kaoru nodded, "We still need to figure how far we're going to go with this." Alex felt a grin sneak away onto her face.

"How good are guys with hair dye and a pair of scissors? Oh, and can we stop at the eye Doctor? 'Cause I need some new glasses." Alex has _never _actually did a prank before, other than when her baby cousin, both of them-though the calls were at least four years apart, called the police. She was also going by fuzzy memory of what was supposed to happen.

She remembered that Hikaru and Kaoru died their hair, and she also remembered her favorite lines-for the most part. She also remembered the basis of what happened in each episode, though not exactly in chronological order.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other, than down at Alex, and smirked, **"Leave it to us."  
**

"Great, now, quick question...What color shoulder I dye my hair? I have a feeling that you two already know what you two are dying yours?"

* * *

NEXT DAY

"Why is everyone dying their hair?" Haruhi questioned no one as she stared at Kaoru, who had blue hair, and Hikaru, who had pink, then Alex, who had flaming red.

"I was finally able to sleep _all _by myself last night," Kaoru told Haruhi, causing Alex to roll her eyes and snort. She turned her head away from him, looking at the wall as she spoke sarcastically.

"Oh, congratulations then, would you like a trophy?"

Kaoru sent her a rotten look and said, "I had a _terrifying _nightmare! I dream that my stylist had dyed my hair pink and curled it! And that my eye-doctor gave me glasses!" Hikaru and Alex gained tick marks, "It was so garish and ridiculous looking, I woke up screaming!" He laughed as he made to sit down in his chair, only to have Hikaru reach over with his long legs and kick the chair out from beneath him, knocking his ass onto the floor. Alex burst out laughing, pointing at him.

"Ha! Serves you right, sky-line!" Haruhi sweatdropped at the oncoming argument and watched as Hikaru drew his leg back, smirking. Alex was grinning widely at all the commotion. Alex sat behind Haruhi, so she practically had front-row seats. "Whoa!" She leaned back when Kaoru shot out with his hand and lifted Hikaru's chair up, causing his head to bash into the window. She clamped a hand over her mouth to hide her snickers. She paused when they looked at her with dull faces on and she tensed, giving them the best glare she could muster.

She calmly reached her right hand into her desk, grabbing one of her text books-by the feel of it, it was her science. They stared at each other through narrowed eyes and within moments they were throwing things at each other. Alex let out a small shriek as she ducked, a _Harry Potter _book almost making home on her face. She quickly reached over and grabbed a pencil sharpener, decking it towards Hikaru's forehead. Luckily it hit-unluckily Kaoru made a jab at her with a chair. She screamed and lunged to the right, almost face-planting into a window. Reaching into a poor students desk, she grabbed a book and lunged at Kaoru, who decked it towards Hikaru.

Haruhi sat in her desk, eyebrow twitching as stress lines formed on her face.

Alex grabbed a stuffed pink bunny and threw-only to regret a second later, "Usa-Chan!" Mitskuni ran into the room to fetch his rabbit, alarmed. Hikaru latched onto Mitskuni's arm-who grabbed his rabbit, and threw him. Mitskuni blinked in confusion when he was suddenly sent sailing through the air.

Haruhi sighed, hanging her head. She briefly wondered when the next seat change was.

For the next few days it continued, on and on and on and on, never ending. There were students who got in the way of the pranks, mainly Hikaru and Kaoru as Alex was more the passive aggressive, so they usually ended up soaked with a bucket on their head or a blow dart stuck in their arm or sailing past their head.

**"I'll have the A lunch," **Hikaru and Kaoru spoke, standing the lunch line in the cafeteria four days later. **"No! Give me the B pasta meal and the D set salad and coke! I'll take the F cappalini and the Barbarie duck! Hold on! Make that a foie gras poele in pariguu sauce! Stop copying me; why don't you just leave me alone!?" **

Alex felt a tick mark form on her face as she grounded her teeth together, "Can you two _shut up_? Your giving me a damn headache."

They turned to glare at her, pissed.

"Amazing," Haruhi commented dryly, "Complete unison even when fighting."

"I was wondering what all the fuss was about," Tamaki commented, walking up with the rest of the Host Club. "I can't believe the three of you are _still _fighting. Your a disgrace to the Host Club."

Alex tore her gaze away from the twins and Tamaki actually _flinched _at her appearance. Alex refused to wear the uniform and decided to dress as ridiculously and horribly fashion-tasteless as she could. She wore a green sweater with a _yellow _scarf that wrapped around her neck a few times with pale blue polkadots on it. Her jeans were blue with multiple rainbow patches on them and she also wore a pair of _hot pink _sneakers.

"Alex...What are you _wearing?_" She replied with a cheeky, yet slight snarky grin,

"I got bored."

Daichi paused in his walking and commented in surprise, "Hey, look who it is!"

"Oh, I love them!" Yuki exclaimed with hearts in her eyes.

"I've never seen them all together like this before!"

"We've had enough of this!" Mitskuni declared, holding up pink sumo sign. "You're all to blame for this fight!" He walked up to the trio and put the sign away, instead pulling out a strawberry cake, "Hika-Chan, Kao-Chan, Lexi-Chan, I want the three of you to make up and go thirdies on this cake! Kay? But I want to have a piece, too, so I guess we'll have to go fourthsies."

Alex felt a sweatdrop coming on, _That isn't even a word...then again, I have bad grammar myself when it comes to speaking. Writing however... _

"Oh, we won't be able to split the strawberry on top though," Mitskuni continued thoughtfully, glancing at it uncertainly. Alex sighed and ran a hand through her flame red hair.

"Eat it, I don't like strawberries that much anyway." It was true. They were a _bit _too...sour, for her. She was a straight up chocolate fan, but still rarely ate sweets.

"Alex..." She stopped walking and paused, looking up at Kyoya through her glasses in surprise. Now that she could actually _see _correctly, she could make out every single detail on his face. "Why on earth did you change your appearance so drastically?"

She shrugged carelessly, "I was bored and the twins just ticked me off. Simple as that." Kyoya's eyes hid behind his glasses as he pushed them up.

"You're not lying, are you?" She looked up at him with raised eyebrows.

"Name _one _time I lied to you?" She dared before walking off and not giving him a chance to respond. She quickly sat down at a table and started to eat.

"I don't care if my boxed lunch is in an embarrassing heart-shape, I will EAT IT!" She paused when she heard Tamaki scream. Kyoya calmly grabbed his lunch tray and said,

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but it's clear that your fantasies are completely incoherent." He said as he walked away, sitting at the same table as Alex. Alex paused in her eating to look at Haruhi, who had the look that one gains after tasting heaven. She felt a grin cross her face and ignored the scratching of paper and pencil.

_Remind me to sneak some food from the house and head over to Haruhi's later. _She thought to herself with a grin. She saw the scene between Haruhi and the twins happen and she resisted the urge to squeal, "Okay, it's official, I'm rooting for Haruhi and the twins to get together!" She clapped her hands together, unable to hide her smile.

"I though you were fighting with them?" Alex jumped and glanced at Kyoya surprised, completely forgetting he was there.

"I-I am," She stuttered. _Okay, calm down. Calm down-just **calm. Down. **You can do this. Just-Just don't focus entirely on him, _"They're severely annoying."

"How so?" She felt stress lines form on her face as she sweatdropped.

"Do I really need to answer? Haven't you seen their behavior the last few days? I ended up with a dart stuck in my arm because of them!"

"I'd appreciate it if you tell the truth."

"I _am! _I even got a mark; see-?" She barely had time to blink before her wrist was grabbed and she was forced out of her seat, being led into the hallway and out of the cafeteria. "H-Hey, what are you doing-" She found herself pressed up against the wall, Kyoya looming over her dangerously. She blinked and felt her glasses trying to slide off of her nose.

"I'm not _talking _about that. Is the fight staged or not?"

"What, no!" She protested instantly. _Damn it-I really hate it when he's right. _"No way! I'm sorry, but I hate fighting in general," _Unless it's "staged". _

"You're lying."

"Am not!"

"Are so."

"Am not!"

"I am not participating in this childish banter."

"You said that the last time, too. And look, you already are." She grinned up at him, trying to act like he wasn't affecting her by being this close. He sighed, irritated, before walking away. Once he was out of sight, she breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close..." She walked back in only to find Tamaki being reprimanded by the Vice Principal.

Which of course led the _entire _Host Club to clean the cafeteria of the mess Hikaru and Kaoru _made_.

...

Alex leaned against the door, eavesdropping. Hikaru and Kaoru were already in the courtyard, ready to start fighting again.

"If this situation persists, we'll have to cancel the brotherly love settings-_and _the sarcastic, childish type." Alex, for a brief moment, wondered if that meant she would be able to join the Black Magic Club. _Heh, I'd get a free Beelzenef-wait, I still need to purchase one from Nekozawa for the rest of the act. _"I can assure you that the request rates will certainly drop. I'll think about all _three _of their penalties later." Alex tensed, wondering for a brief moment if Kyoya knew she was eavesdropping. "Oh, Haruhi...I just want you to know that there's no need for you to feel responsible, even if it was for your tactless comment that started the feud between the twins and Alex in the first place. And we don't mind cleaning up the cafeteria at all..."

Alex could almost _feel _Kyoya's order of murderous intent from behind the door.

"It's weird for Hika-Chan and Kao-Chan to be fighting like this." She heard Mitskuni comment, "It's never happened before."

"They never fought before?" Haruhi asked.

"I knew Hika-Chan and Kao-Chan since we were in pre-school. We weren't in the same year, so I never really got to talk to them. But I remember that the two of them _always _played together."

Tamaki spoke next, "Yeah, that's true. I mean, I've only known the twins since they were in Middle School, but they definitely stood out. It seems like they've kept everyone at a distance except each other." Alex frowned at that, somehow saddened by that statement. It almost made her want to run over to the twins and hug them, stop the mock-fighting. "Believe it or not, they were even more warped back then. Maybe when you stop and think about it, this fight is a _good _thing for them."

Alex chose that moment to leave, running towards the courtyard, only to scream when she nearly got stabbed by arrows that shot out of the columns.

The doors opened, revealing Tamaki and the rest of the Host Club. Tamaki screamed as he almost because sushi himself. He quickly chased after Alex into the courtyard, figuring that she'd lead him to the twins so he could kill them.

...

"-and?" Tamaki questioned, arms crossed angrily. He was covered in eggs and bruises, birds sitting on his head and shoulders. "What'a amazing is that you have all set identical traps, and what's more, all of them have hit me." Hikaru and Kaoru's hair as moved to their natural position, though still ridiculous colors, because of all the running.

**"Hi-Kaoru-Karu, ask him." **The twin brother glared at each other, and Alex snapped,

"Make up already!"

"Make up? _Make up!?" _Hikaru was pissed, "You want me to make up with that-that _thing_!? Every time I look in the mirror, I see his face!" He turned his glare onto his brother, "I'm sick and tired of being _constantly _mistaken as you, Kaoru! The truth is-_I hate your guts!" _

"You took the words right out of my mouth, "Brother"." Kaoru mocked him, "In fact, I hate you so much, I bought this! Beelzenef the cursed doll!" Alex felt her face pale, realizing she forgot to buy it from Nekozawa. Good thing Kaoru thought ahead. Tamaki shrieked and backed up a few feet. "I'm going to complete the curse, Hikaru. I'm going to write your name on it's back!"

Hikaru braced himself, shoulders tensing as sweat beaded down his face.

"From this day forward," Kaoru continued, writing on the doll's back with a marker, "you're going to experience nothing but misfortune and sorrow!"

Alex laughed loudly, crossing her arms around her stomach, "Oh! This is gonna be good-!" She shrieked in pain when Haruhi ran over and clocked her, Hikaru, _and _Kaoru upside the head.

"Will you three _knock it off!? _What do you think you're doing!?" Haruhi demanded as she stood, yanking the doll away from Kaoru. Everyone, even Kyoya and Mori, looked surprised. "You don't bring something like_ this_ into a petty_ fight_! You're all at fault here, but what's sad is that you brought everyone here into this mess! Now apologize to each other! If you don't make up _right now_ I'm never going to let you come over to my house! Have I made myself clear!?"

Alex, thoroughly intimidated, nodded shortly, "Yes, ma'am." Haruhi paused when she saw the twins smiles, then looked over at Alex who seemed to fighting back a grin. She froze, gaining a bad feeling.

Hikaru and Kaoru stood, hands on their hips as they walked around the girl, **"So what you're saying Haruhi, is that if we make up we can come over to your place?" **Alex grinned widely, arms crossed. Feeling the aura of murderous intent looming behind her, she froze. Swallowing, she looked behind her slowly to see a smiling Kyoya who had a _very _tight grip on his black book.

"Alex..." She swallowed, clearly and _very _much so frightened. She heard Haruhi's scream in the background and figured that she saw "blank" written in kanji. She also must have seen Hikaru holding up the packet that read "script" on the back.

"I'm so sorry, Kaoru, even thought we were following the script, I said such _awful _things to you! I'm not fit to be your brother!"

Kaoru quickly took Hikaru's face into his hands, "Don't say that Hikaru! I was so worried, I couldn't live with myself if I ever thought I had hurt you!"

"I'll never let you go, Kaoru!"

"Hikaru!"

Alex felt a small grin slip its way onto her face as she backed up nervously, trying to hide from the angered Shadow King. "N-Now, Kyoya, I think it's safe to say that it was entirely the twins' faults that you had to go and clean the cafeteria..."

"It was your idea to start the fight in the first place," Hikaru spoke, placing the blame on her. Alex flinched when Kyoya's murderous aura grew.

"Yeah, don't go placing the blame on us!" Kaoru added. She swallowed, completely terrified.

"You gotta be kidding!" Mitsukuni freaked, "You mean you guys were faking it the whole time!"

Alex quickly made a break for it behind the twins, barely escaping Kyoya's hand. She quickly grabbed onto their arms, speaking at the same time as them with a sheepish grin, the twins merely frowning, **"We didn't have anything else to do. We were bored!" **

"Kyoya! Stay back! I have a pair of demonic twins and I'm _not _afraid to use them! And look! They're also ginger, so-so-yeah! Stay back!" She swallowed, backing up again as Kyoya walked calmly towards her.

Two types of anger. The loud anger and the quiet anger. The quiet anger is by far more scary.

And she was facing it right now.

...Next Day...

Alex, back to being a brunette, sported contacts along with a few bruises from Kyoya's black book.

**"Okay, it's time to play the "Which on is Hikaru" Game!" **Hikaru and Kaoru still sported the blue and pink hair, though it was back to its original style and they swapped colors.

Alex leaned her head on her arms, sitting at the same table as Kyoya as he typed away on his laptop. "I hate you..."

"No, you don't."

"Shut up and let me mope in my self-pity." Kyoya sighed and looked up from his laptop at the girl, raising an eyebrow.

"Now, what fun would I have if I let you do that?"

"Absolutely none."

"Correct."

"I know!" A girl exclaimed, raising a hand as she looked at the twins, "The one with the pink hair is Hikaru!"

**"We have a winner!" **

Alex mumbled to herself, "Nope", which caused Kyoya to look at her with raised eyebrows, eyes hidden behind glasses.

"Are you two going to keep your wild hair color, even though you made up? It's much easier to tell you two apart!" Haruhi laughed as she walked by.

"No, it isn't." She stopped and looked at them with a smile, "Today the pink one is Kaoru and Hikaru's the blue one."

Alex sat up straight, clapping as she raised her hands in the air, "Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Woo!"

"You swapped colors for the day, huh?" Haruhi asked, casting Alex a slight glance out of the corner of her eyes. She smiled as she turned and walked away.

Hikaru and Kaoru, very much like when they were children, held each other's hands. Kaoru glanced at his brother from the corner of his eyes, realizing that for the second time, someone has crossed the barrier into their world.

"Ow-stop hitting me with your book!" Alex shrieked, causing the brothers to snap out of their trance and look at the commotion. Kyoya could, apparently, hold a grudge, "You're worse than Nico from _Percy Jackson and the Olympions_-Ow! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was bored, okay! I didn't mean to make you clean the cafeteria!"

"It was _your _plan in the first place."

"I didn't know you would end up cleaning the cafeteria!" _Okay, lie. _"Stop it!"

Hikaru eyed the two of them closely, trying to figure it out. _She's not a shadow, she's not a companion, but...friend? Could she have really befriended the Shadow King? _Maybe, maybe they were right when they constantly teased her about Kyoya. He watched as she tried to avoid Kyoya's book.

**This chapter really disappoints me...Just sayin'. **


	14. Nightmares and Naughty's

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila. I don't own any anime or their characters. I only own Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler references.**

**March 15. 2:45 P.M.**

_Pain flared through her body, bones cracking at impact. Body slamming against metal and rolling, flying through air. Her body slammed onto solid concrete, glass scraping against her face. Warmth splattering against her and the excruciating pain of a bullet. Barrel of a gun, cold, and pressed against head-the man's finger on the trigger, pulling slowly-_

Alex shot up straight in her seat alarm, a scream starting to rip its way through her throat, when a hand was placed on her shoulder. Her eyes were wide and terrified, not recognizing where she was.

"Alex? Alex, calm down-" She stood and stumbled out of her seat when she turned to look at the man who was speaking to her. She was freaking out, too panic to focus on the voice and figure out who was speaking. She saw a blur of pink as she tripped, falling backwards. She closed her eyes as a small scream flew out of her mouth, terrified.

Alex was reliving her death all over again.

She struggled, thrashing about as the person who caught her tried to hold her down-to stop her from moving. She heard them shouting and she briefly registered the voice as familiar and male. "Let me go!" She shrieked, trying to kick at the man, but with great difficulty due to the Arabian Princess attire she was wearing. "_No! Stop it!" _

"Alex!" She barely registered the tears streaming down her face-she just wanted _out_. She didn't want to die-_twice. _He was going to kill. Rape and kill her. Or kill her, _then _rape her. Most likely had a pocket knife of some sort, maybe even a gun. "Alex, calm down!"

"I didn't do anything-I don't deserve to die-!" She found herself picked up and carried, then dropped onto a cushion-most likely a couch. She aimed a punch at the man, eyes squeezed shut. She didn't want to look at the face of her killer, she didn't want him to be the last thing she saw as she died. "No! No, no, no, no, no-!"

"_Alex!" _The voice shouted, clearly aggravated. Alex felt hands pin her arms and legs down, preventing her from injuring anybody. _Two_, her mind barely registered. _There are two people. "Alexandra Connors, **look at me!"**_

"No!" She shouted and felt a hand release her right wrist, moving onto her face and attempting to open her eyes. Hands released her feet and Alex reached up with her right hand, desperate to survive-

The sound of skin hitting against skin echoed in the room and Alex inhaled sharply, opening her eyes when she felt something hard scrape against her knuckles. She swallowed and looked up with alarm and horror when she saw who she had slapped. Her face paled and her hands quickly flew up over to her mouth, kicking Mori's hands away from her as she scuffled backwards and sunk as far back into the couch that she could, knees pulled to her chest.

"I-I-I-Kyo-I-" The tears welled up in her already red eyes faster than one could blink, quickly streaming down her face. Her mouth was dry and her throat was sore, the fear that was residing in her now sunk down in regret, her heart dropping into her stomach. "I-I didn't mean-oh, my god..." _What did I just do!?_

Kyoya's left cheek was red, his head tilted at an angel from where he was slapped. His glasses flew off of his face at the contact and landed on the ground-not broken, but slightly scratched. His eyes were wide in shock and surprise. Of all people, he didn't expect Alex to be the one to slap him. She was speechless-_everyone _was speechless. The entire Host Club was.

"Oh, my-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," She flinched, shoulders shaking as she started to curl up in a ball, unable to look at Kyoya. What did she just _do? _She slapped Kyoya. She _slapped _Kyoya. _She _slapped _Kyoya_. Her best friend. The guy she liked. She liked him, her best friend, and she _slapped _him. Knocked the glasses right off his face. "I'm sorry," She apologized repeatedly, fearing his reaction, knowing that no matter what she said, he most likely would not forgive her.

Who on earth would forgive someone for slapping them-nonetheless, _her_?

Kyoya, ignoring her tears and apologies, bent down and picked up his glasses. He observed them for damage and determined it minor, before cleaning them off and putting them back on. He sighed and pushed up his glasses, before turning his gaze back onto the sobbing Alex. Now that he got a good look at her, he could see the dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep and the pale-than-usual skin tone. Judging by her reaction, she was suffering from nightmares. He moved his jaw around a bit, ignoring the stinging pain from where he was slapped.

For being a slightly weak girl, she could pack on hell of a slap.

She continued to mumble apologies and shake head head, sobbing. The girl seemed unable to stop, clearly traumatized by her actions. Kyoya sighed, almost debating how profitable the income might be and/or how _troublesome _it would be, before kneeling down in front of the couch and placing his hands on the girl's shoulders, causing her head to snap up and lock eyes with him, her's red and teary. She swallowed, not sure how she was to respond to the look her was giving her.

He had no idea what the nightmare was about that caused her to reach like that, or why she had broke down so suddenly when she realized it was him she had slapped-he just knew that he didn't like that look on her face. He stared at her intensely for a moment before saying, "Alex. Calm _down_."

She inhaled sharply as she stared at him, eyes widening. Kyoya barely had time to blink before his midsection was tackled, Alex's face burying into his stomach with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Alex was a hugger, and that was exactly what she needed right now. Inaudible apologies escaped her lips as she cried, unable to calm down.

...About ten minutes after her little fit, Kyoya passed her off to Haruhi-whose face reflected worry.

They were sitting on the couch, far away from the rest of the Hosts who kept glancing at them.

Five minutes until opening.

"Alex, what was that?" Haruhi questioned worriedly, looking down at the girl who had curled up in a ball and was resting her head on Haruhi's lap. "Why were you freaking out like that?"

"Nothing," Alex replied distractedly, obviously tired. She's been having the nightmares ever since she started to except the Hitachiin estate as "home", that she would most likely never leave this dimension. She yawned, eyes drooping slightly, "I just...just had a bad dream, that's all. Nothing I can't handle."

"Alex, you're about to _drop_." The short haired brunette stressed, looking at her friend in concern. "You're paler than usual and you have bags under your eyes-have you been getting enough sleep?"

"Yeah," Alex replied, not really paying attention. She wanted to sleep, but was afraid. She was afraid of the ghosts from her death coming back to haunt her in her sleep. She always woke up in the middle of the night, multiple times, sweating and her heart pounding fast. She was always too frightened to go back to sleep. She just turned on her laptop and stayed up the rest of the night. She mumbled to Haruhi, barely raising her voice as she tried to fight off the sleepiness, "Plenty... Four...no, five-hours?" She yawned and her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, "It usually isn't this bad..." She mumbled to herself, not really paying attention to Haruhi, so she barely noticed the girl's eyes widen as she continued to talk to herself, "They weren't as bad last week..."

Haruhi questioned softly, trying to figure out what was wrong with her friend, "What isn't as bad?"

"The nightmares..." Haruhi looked at her questionably. Alex seemed to realize what she said and shook her head, "Nothing. I'm fine."

"Alex-" Haruhi was cut off by Tamaki.

"Positions! It's opening time!"

They ran and greeted as the doors opened, **"Welcome to the Ouran Host Club." **

They were more than surprised to see an elementary boy scream and fall to his butt on the ground, looking at them like they were aliens.

"Oh," Hikaru commented, "It's just a kid."

Kaoru chuckled at his brother, "Not only that, it's just a boy."

Alex felt her eyebrow twitch slightly, "You realize that it's a "he" and not an object?" The twins started blankly at her, causing her to sweatdrop. She fought back a yawn. Tamaki tried to be friendly and asked with a smile, outstretching a hand towards the kid,

"What's wrong, little boy?"

* * *

**SKIPPPING OUT OF PURE AND UNCONTROLLABLE ANGER!**

"So, how's it goin', Boss?" Hikaru asked Tamaki as he Kaoru tried to hold back their laughter, arms wrapped around each other, "That's an adorable little apprentice you got there." They watched as Tamaki fumed, and Hikaru blinked and turned his head to look at his brother when Kaoru pulled away.

"Hikaru..." Kaoru began, looking hurt. His eyes were sad and diverted from his brother, his thumb against his chin, pressing up against his bottom lip, "Do you wish you had a little brother like Shiro?

"Kaoru," Hikaru began and quickly embraced his brother, kissing his forehead before burying his face into his hair and inhaling deeply. He then pulled back and resting his chin on Kaoru's head, but not before placing another soft kiss against his brother's temple, "Don't be ridiculous. I could search the whole _world _and never find a better brother than you, Kaoru."

"Hikaru..." Alex felt a small grin form at the scene, just as two of their guests squealed.

The second one, the light haired brunette, exclaimed, "This is the best brotherly love in the world!" Shiro was clearly repulsed by them when he stepped back, gripping onto the table ledge so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"They're homos! And they're _brothers_! They have the exact same _face_! That makes this insectuous!" Tamaki appeared behind Shiro with his arms crossed, stern.

"I think what you mean to say was incestuous." Shiro looked at him in disgust and alarm and barely had time to come up with a response before Mitskuni jumped out of nowhere and latched onto Shiro's back, his arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

"Hey, Shiro-Chan! You wanna have a piece of cake with me!? We have three kinds; chocolate, strawberry, and lime." Mitskuni let out a small gasp when Shiro pushed him off.

"Hey, back off!" He glared at the blonde, who now had tears in his eyes. "What grade are you in anyway; why are you wearing a high school uniform!?" Alex felt her eyebrow twitch, irritated at the boy. Alex _loved _kids, don't get her wrong, but when they made some like Mitskuni cry...

She was about to intervene when Mori beat her to it. His shadow loomed over Shiro and Mitskuni, causing the two of them to look up at the tall giant. Shiro let out a strangled cry at the sight of the giant with his hands on his hips.

"Something wrong, Mitskuni?"

"That's not fair!" Shiro shrieked, "A little kid like you isn't supposed to have a cool, bigger friend like _him_!" Mitskuni let out a cry as he jumped up onto Mori's arm, holding onto the tall man tightly. Mori said nothing, merely blinking and looked down at Mitskuni to see if he was alright.

"And what's wrong with having a cool, bigger friend like him?" Alex demanded, crossing her arms. Shiro looked at her, a little more than surprised and taken-aback by the scars on her face.

"What the heck happened to you? Did you get mauled by a cat or something?" Alex felt her eyebrow twitch at that and ignored the pang in her chest at the reminder of her scars.

"_Nooo_, it was a car crash, if you must know. And for you information, Mori and Honey are in the same class. They're both eighteen." She remembered Haruhi's words about how she never called Mitskuni that and how she should get more sleep. She got plenty of sleep! And, she also ate three slices of chocolate cake and a lolipop to keep her functioning, and to settle her stomach ache she took an ibuprofen.

Shiro looked at her alarmed, the back at the two cousins. He backed up, shocked, "What!?" He bumped straight into Haruhi, who was carrying a tea tray. Haruhi managed to prevent anything from breaking as she and Shiro both regained their balance.

Haruhi leaned over slightly to look at him. She asked with a gentle smile, "Are you alright? I know, it's kinda hard getting used to all the weirdos around here. It took me awhile to get adjusted to all the craziness, so don't freak out. I'm sure you'll get used to it."

Alex complained, "But Haruhi~! You're part of the group, so that means you're just as weird as the rest of us!" Haruhi stood up and looked at Alex with a grin.

"Not really. If anything, I'm the only normal person here." Alex faked hurt as she gained an offended look, a hand pressed against her chest. Haruhi seemed to notice Shiro staring at her and looked down at him, questioning curiously, "Something wrong?"

"Are you a crossdresser?" He asked blatantly. Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki all froze, alarmed. Tamaki quickly ran over and clamped a hand over the boy's eyes,

"Okay, that's enough! I think Shiro should take care of the tea for us, don't you?"

"Wow, Haruhi," Kaoru commented with an awkward smile, "You're looking extra manly today!"

Hikaru chuckled at his brother's words, the same nervous look on his face, "Do as the boss says and let Shiro take care of that tea set; it's part of his training! You're too macho for tea sets!"

The twins and Tamaki laughed nervously, while Alex face-palmed at their obvious behavior. Haruhi sighed as she gave them all dry looks. Shiro removed Tamaki's hand from his face, annoyed. After a few moments, Haruhi handed the tea set to Shiro, not letting go until the boy had a firm grip on it.

"Now, be careful with it-it's pretty heavy." Haruhi let go and Shiro let out a grunt and dropped it just as quick as he was handed it. Alex jumped, letting a small shriek at the sound of glasses breaking, and moved backwards out of fear of getting cut.

"It's not my fault I dropped it," Shiro stated, acting like a spoiled brat. He looked up at Haruhi, "It's _your _fault 'cause you're the one who made me take it in the first place." Alex's eyebrow twitched and she quickly reacted, doing what she did to her baby cousins whenever they started to act like brats and fight-she smacked him upside the head.

There was a silence, which was only broken by Shiro glaring at Alex and snapping as he rubbed the spot Alex smacked on his head, "What the heck was that for!?"

"For acting like a spoiled little brat!" She snapped, giving him a stern look. Shiro was clearly taken aback, "Don't go blaming other people for something _you _did! Haruhi didn't drop it, _you _dropped it because you didn't even put any effort into holding the damn thing up!" Okay, Alex didn't usually curse around children, but she was tired and when she was tired she was rude. And when she's rude she tends to curse and snap at people, "So stop acting like a spoiled little brat and blaming other people when it was clearly _your _fault. You should've at least _attempted _to hold it up. My eight-year-old cousin Mikeala could hold that thing up if she wanted, and she's _eight_! You're what; ten?"

"Eleven!" Shiro snapped, ticked off at getting lectured, "I don't have to take anything from you, Scarface! What's with those scars, anyway? I'm fairly certain a car crash would look much worse." Alex paused, alarmed at the nickname.

_Scarface? He called me...Scarface? _She was no warrior cat, but even she understood how much Brightheart/Scarface must have when Bluestar gave her that name. Alex was quickly enveloped in a depressed aura, far away from Shiro. She frowned, looking down at her feet as she debated how true that nickname was. _I-I really **am **a Scarface..._ Alex normally didn't let how much insult get to her show on her face, but that one hit hard. She only agreed to wear the hairclips and not cover up her scars, is because Hikaru and Kaoru said she looked fine and that the scars gave her character. Not mention she just didn't like a ton of makeup on her face.

She felt an arm on her left shoulder and a hand on the back of her head and looked up to see Kaoru with a tick mark on his head. To her right stood Hikaru, who also looked irritated.

First Haruhi, now Alex-What next?

"Haruhi, that's another one hundred thousand yen," Kyoya told her, marking that down in his book. "And Shiro," The boy looked up at Kyoya and almost froze at the terrifying smile that was sent his way, "Please don't go insulting anymore of our Hosts, and please, do us all a favor and stop breaking what doesn't belong to you."

"You should just make your crossdresser and Scarface do all of your stupid chores! Besides, you can just clean up with this!" He quickly grabbed a light blue curtain off from a shelf and placed it on the broken glass and spilled tea, "It absorbs really well!" He exclaimed in slight surprise.

Kyoya's smile seemed to grow as a dark aura formed around him, "What are you doing with my new special tailor-made curtain?" Tamaki quickly got up in Shiro's face, screaming.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? WHO'S EVIL SERVANT ARE YOU!?"

Shiro glared at the blonde, peeved, "DON'T MAKE A CHILD HOLD SOMETHING HEAVY LIKE THAT! BE GRATEFUL I EVEN WIPED THE MESS UP!"

Alex mumbled sarcastically, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, "Oh, yeah, we're _really _grateful." Kyoya looked as if he were about to kill.

**"The scars give her character, you little brat!" **Hikaru and Kaoru snapped, glaring at Shiro. Apparently nobody liked Shiro...

"She looks like that Scottish actor, Tommy Flanagan!" Alex blinked, not understanding the reference. "She's hideous!" _I **know**__that..._ Instead of moping, she asked in confusion,

"Uh, who?" Kyoya explained, still smiling a shit-eating grin,

"He's a Scottish actor who died in 2001. He was known for having very distinctive scars on his face." Alex felt her heart sink into her stomach again.

Tamaki felt his eyebrows twitch, his fists shaking, "You won't get anywhere with that attitude...and I'm _not _going to let you disrespect _both _Haruhi and Alex! So," He stood and pointed at Shiro, "Put this brat in isolation!"

Hikaru and Kaoru quickly saluted, **"Sir, yes, sir!" **They quickly ran over to a cabinet and opened it, pulling on the long rope that was inside. Out of nowhere a cage fell down and collapsed around Shiro, separating him from everyone else in the room.

"What is this!?" Shiro demanded, grabbing onto the bars, "Why'd you put me in a cage all of a sudden?"

"Yeah," Haruhi agreed, sweatdropping, "and where'd it come from?"

Alex shrugged, shaking her head slowly, "I don't know, Haruhi...I _don't _know." Haruhi glanced at Alex and asked, worried for her own sanity,

"This is supposed to be a _music _room, right?"

"This is no way to treat your loyal apprentice," Shiro snapped as he grabbed onto the bars and jumped up, his feet pressing against the bars, "NOW LET ME OUT OF THIS _CAGE!_" Tamaki paused in his sipping of tea out of a cup. He was sitting down in a chair, not that far away from the cage, actually.

"Not until you learned you lesson. I made you my apprentice because I thought you were serious about becoming a host, but I guess I was wrong," He let out an overly dramatic sigh. Tamaki took another sip of his tea as Shiro ranted.

"I _am _serious! Totally serious!" Tamaki was unconvinced, merely drinking his tea calmly, "I want you to teach me how to make _a _woman _happy_!" Alex watched the kid fall to his knees, still clutching the bars. If Alex was being honest, she _would _say that she felt a _little _sorry for the kid. "I'm running out of time," His voice trembled slightly, "_Please_, won't you teach me? You're a Host because you like girls; you like bringing a smile to a girl's face...That's why you _do it_, right?" He sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

Tamaki pulled the cup away from his mouth, looking at the boy with half-lidded eyes.

"Please, won't you teach me to be like you!?" He finally lifted his head, moving his face closer to the bars to get a better view of Tamaki, "You're a genius at it! You're...The _King!" _

"Yes, and Kyoya's the Queen," Alex added, earning a whack in the head by a book. _Worth it~! _She watched in surprise, though slight expectancy, as Tamaki's eyes widened at the names. Tamaki quickly stood with a smile, his arms crossed.

"Well, you _may _be a brat, but I admire your desire to become a Host. So, I'll teach you." Tamaki hugged himself, sparkles appearing around him as he said, "You know, Shiro, you and I are _so _much alike!"

Alex snorted loudly and clamped her hands over her mouth when Haruhi commented sympathetically,

"You poor kid." Shiro stood, eyes wide with happiness, as he clutched onto the bars.

"You'll help me become the kind of person that can make any woman happy!?"

"Of course." Tamaki replied with a smile, "Making every woman," He added then as an afterthought, "and man happy is the sole purpose of _being _a Host. If this is what you want, Shiro, then you'll have to figure out a way to work with the material you already have." He was only confusing the poor boy.

"What does that mean?" Shiro questioned, leaving Kyoya to explain everything.

"You see, here at the Ouran Host Club, our policy's to use our individual personality traits to meet the needs of our guests." Shiro had whirled around to stare at the mysterious glasses character, pressing his back up against the cage. "For example, there's Tamaki, who is the "Princely" type." Tamaki quickly whirled out two white roses and crossed his arms, holding the roses out to his sides. His eyes were closed and he had a pleasant smile on his face. "There's the "strong, silent" type," Mori pulled out a dark blue rose, back turned to everyone, "The "Boy-lolita" type," Mitskuni held up Usa-Chan, who he had hold onto a bright pink rose, "The "Little-Devil" type," Hikaru and Kaoru linked their arms together, Hikaru holding a blue rose while Kaoru held up an Orange, smirks on their faces, "The "Sarcastic, Childish" type," Alex fumbled to grab a green rose from her jacket and held up to her chest, giving the kid a peace sign with her left hand. She grinned, "and the "Cool" type." Kyoya finished, smirking as he held up a lavender rose. "It's all about _variety." _Alex ignored the fact that the way he said that caused her to look up at him with a small smile, excitement bubbling up in her stomach.

"And now our group is complete, with the addition of Haruhi," Kyoya continued as he crossed his arms with a smirk, catching Alex's look, "The "natural"."

Haruhi fumbled to catch the red rose that Tamaki threw at her, blinking in confusion as she pointed at herself, "The "Natural"?"

Kyoya nodded and continued, "It would seem that right now we have the perfect blend of characteristics, so its going to be difficult to find a new type for Shiro."

"If you go by his age," Hikaru began, observing Shiro, "He _should _be the "Boy-lolita" type."

"But Honey-Sempai's already got that covered," Kaoru finished, completely his brother's thoughts. Mitskuni looked up at them with teary eyes, scared.

"Is he gonna replace me?" Alex frowned and shook her head, reaching a hand up and ruffling the blonde's hair. He looked up at her with wide, tearful eyes.

"Nah, 'course not, Mitskuni. No one can replace someone as adorable as you. Besides, where would the Host Club be without our favorite cake-loving, Bunny-fan, blonde?" Mitskuni nodded, grabbing onto Alex's arm and giving her a hug. Alex will be honest, Mitskuni reminded her of her other cousin, Erin, who was ten. Erin was Mikeala's older brother, and younger brother of his sister, Ally. Eric was really childish and adorable, and got scared easily. He was also slightly selfish.

Alex then paused and gave the Host Club members a look, ignoring the surprised way they were looking at her, "Seriously, all you can come up with is "Boy-lolita"!? Haven't you heard of "Gothic-lolita" or "Punk-lolita" or "Sweet-lolita"?" All she received were blank looks. She sighed and placed a hand on Mitskuni's shoulder, whose arms were wrapped around her waist, "Oh, dear...I have a _lot _of work to do." Renge apparently decided not to make a guest star appearance, so that left Alex to do the work. She started to explain, or at least, attempt too, "Okay, there are many, _many _types of lolita. Mitskuni here, just happens to be the adorable, "Boy-lolita" one who craves sweets and stuffed animals and pink, pink, pink. There is also the "Goth-lolita" which includes frills, frills, frills, and," She attempted to imitate Nekozawa, _"Utter darkness..." _She cleared her throat, trying to get to the point, "_Then _there's the "Mischievous-Lolita".

Renge _finally _decided to appear on her stage, the room shaking as she came out of the ground, exclaiming, "Very good, very-well informed, Alexy!" Alex made a face at the name, but decided not to comment. "Alex is right, there are plenty of girls out there who have a thing for younger boys or boys with baby-faces," Many looks were shot towards Mitskuni and Alex, but they decided to ignore them. Renge, casting a look at Alex's round face, added, "Same thing goes with men and girls with baby-faces. These people would be considered "Shota-Fans". So Shota can be a fairly broad category so its important to know that the genre can be broken down into many smaller sub-categories. For example, "Shota-Fans" would favor a boy like Haninozuka-Sempai or a girl like Alex,"

"Since when was I a lolita!?" She demanded, utterly confused at how she was put into the "Shota" category, "I'm taller than Mitskuni! I'm 5'0!"

Renge sighed and almost rolled her eyes, "You're a younger girl with a baby face, that makes you look around twelve, albeit you _are _taller than most Lolitas, but with you're baby-face, you are most _definitely _a lolita. You are..."Cosplay" Lolita!"

"Still not a lolita," She mumbled to herself. Kyoya was jotting down everything Renge was saying in his little black book, getting as much information about the new "Type" that he could. "Cosplay" type, I'm not even a lolita..."

"This little boy is different," Renge said, focusing back onto Shiro. "If I had to pick a character for him...Yes!" She pointed at him, "He'd be the "Naughty-Boy" type without a doubt!"

"The "Naughty" type?" They watched as the cage was lifted off of him and stood on the sidelines as Renge put him through "training". Once they were done Tamaki clapped his hands, an awed smile on his face.

"That was amazing, Renge! I never knew you were such a good couch!" Alex stared at him strangely for that. _That would be more like torment... _

Renge burst out laughing and was cut off by Shiro.

"I've had enough of you people!" Everyone turned to look at him in surprise, "This is so _stupid_, none of this is ever gonna help me make her happy!"

"Who's "Her"?" Haruhi questioned to no one as she watched Shiro get up and run away.

"Wait, Shiro!' Tamaki called after the boy, outstretching a hand, "We haven't taught you how to apply the techniques you've learned yet!" Renge sighed, hands on her hips as she stood back onto her stage.

"I swear, younger boys are good-for-nothing." The room started to shake as her stage turned around in circles, moving back into the ground, "I went through all that trouble to couch him, and he _quits_." Once Renge vanished, Tamaki commented incredulously,

"I can't believe he _ditched _us just because he didn't like the lesson. What a selfish, little brat!"

"There aren't many people who'd enjoy that kind of lesson," Haruhi spoke, a hand on her hip. Tamaki turned around to look at her. "But never mind that, were you listening to what he said? He said he was gonna run out of time; what do you think he means by that?"

"He also said "I just want to make _her _happy"." Alex added in her ten cents, still debating on why she was considered a "Lolita".

"Alex is right. We think that, maybe, it's a girl."

* * *

**March 16**

"Alright men, it's time to initiate our mission," Haruhi, Alex, and Mitskuni looked around the dark room in confusion, everyone's eyes gleaming. Even Mori and Kyoya's eyes were glowing in the darkness of the room.

"Whattya mean?" Haruhi questioned, watching as Alex hid behind her. She was confused; why was Alex hiding?

"What mission?" Mitskuni asked curiously. Alex gripped Haruhi's shoulders tightly and demanded,

"What is it?" She didn't like the looks in their eyes.

"We're going to infiltrate the Elementary School," Tamaki explained and grinned evilly and eyed them, "You three are going in." They swallowed, sweat beaded down their faces and chills ran down their spine.

**"But where are we going?" **Mitskuni and Haruhi asked in complete unison, while Alex tried to sneak out of the room only to be caught by the twins.

* * *

"How did we let them talk us into this?" Haruhi questioned Alex and Mitskuni, hiding behind the wall. Haruhi wore a long wig with a straight fringe, the hair stopping at her lower back. Alex's hair was messy as ever, and they both wore the brown Ouran Middle School Uniforms. Mitskuni's hair remained the same and he wore the Elementary students green uniform.

"I feel naked," Alex stated bluntly, "Why couldn't I have worn the guys uniform? Or at least a pair of leggings?" All she had was a pair of socks that went up to her calf. She could handle dresses, but skirts were pushing-_and _she was forced into one. Alex let out a sigh, "I miss America..." The skirt stopped a mid-thigh on both her and Haruhi, the outfits apparently made to fit them.

"It'll be okay," Mitskuni whispered to them, "It was so easy to sneak in, and wearing this uniform, I really _do _look like I belong in Elementary school.

"Sneak in?" Alex questioned, eyeing the blonde questionably, "All the kids can see us!" It was true, and quite a few elementary schoolers were pointing at them and whispering.

"Yeah, that's true," Haruhi said, speaking to the both of them. "I can understand why they wanted you to wear the Elementary school uniform-I mean, we _are _sneaking into an _Elementary School _and you totally fit in, Sempai..."

"But what we don't get is why we have to dress up in the middle-school uniform." Alex found it kind of ironic. Since she was fifteen, back in her dimension she'd be going _up _into High School and out of Middle School, and here she was back in middle school again.

"Why even bother with disguises; we stick out like a sore thumb," Haruhi grumbled to herself. Alex blinked when she heard the sounds of doors opening and debated looking behind her. She did so and caught Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki staring at the three of them-more specifically, Haruhi. Mori and Kyoya were hiding in the background in the darkness, and she looked on in confusion when she swore that Kyoya was looking at her.

"There's a reason," She heard Tamaki say, just as Mitskuni grabbed both hers and Haruhi's arms, "a _damn _good reason."

"This way, Haru-Chan, Lexi-Chan!" Alex stumbled backwards, Mitskuni grabbing her arm while she was turned around, and heard Kyoya say,

"So in other words you just wanted to see her dressed up like that?" Before they were out of hearing. Alex ended up running backwards-_very _awkwardly, before managing to turn around and run properly. They arrived rather quickly to the classroom, Mitskuni exclaiming,

"This is it! Shiro-Chan's classroom!" He opened the doors and raised his voice excitedly, "When I was in Elementary School, this way my classroom, too!" He laughed as he ran into the room.

Haruhi and Alex walked into the room, Alex sitting down at a random desk lazily while Haruhi placed her hand on one, noting, "There's nobody here."

"Any idea where they went?" Alex asked and she and Haruhi both jumped at the sudden noise of Mitskuni playing a clarinet that he found on a desk. "Whoa! What the hell-!?" Haruhi quickly shushed her and Alex sank back in the almost-too-small seat. "I feel so short..."

"Don't just play that because it's there!" Haruhi scolded, trying to get Mitskuni to stop playing, "What if someone finds us!?" Mitskuni pouted, but did as told anyway and set it back where he found it.

The rest of the Host Club then walked in, Tamaki commenting loudly, "So the kid's classroom is empty, is it?"

**"This sure takes me back." **Hikaru and Kaoru spoke, hands in their pockets. Kaoru spoke in bemused wonder,

"I wonder if doodles are still on may desk?"

Kyoya replied, "Doubtful, the school changes the desks every year."

"Let's check out the cafeteria after this," Hikaru suggested, grinning. Kaoru said,

"I wanna see the old gym."

"Good idea, Kaoru!"

Haruhi turned to the male Host Club members annoyed, whisper/shouting angrily, "If you're just gonna barge in here like that, then why did we have to wear these stupid disguises!?"

"Don't worry about it," Hikaru told her, clearly laid-back.

Kaoru nodded, "There's no one here to catch us." As if to prove him wrong, the footsteps of a teacher echoed down the hall. Everyone ducked down, except for Alex who stumbled out of the seat and knelt down between Mori and Kyoya, pushing the seat back into the desk, "If the teacher finds us..."

"We'll have a hard time explaining why we snuck in," Hikaru finished. Alex glared at them and hissed,

"Shut up, already! Do you wanna get caught? Now calm your breathing and don't say a word!" Feeling like she was going to get caught, she attempted to duck lower, only to still feel paranoid.

"Keep your lips, zipped!" She made a zipping motion with her hand to her mouth, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki all copying her movements with red faces. Once the footsteps faded away, Haruhi got up from her spot on the floor and peered out the doorway. Alex observed the way her tense shoulders relaxed and figured that the teacher was gone, "Looks like he's gone." Everyone stood up and Haruhi ran back over, "But you guys, we came here to get the scoop on Shiro, so what do you think we should do now?" Alex realized that Kyoya and Mitskuni were gone and looked around, finding them looking at some pictures.

"Well, here's something interesting," Kyoya told them, just as Alex stood next to him.

"What'd you find?" Haruhi questioned. Kyoya said nothing, merely pointing at the picture that had Shiro and some girl playing piano together, Shiro actually smiling. "That's Shiro!" Haruhi exclaimed, causing Alex to mutter sarcastically,

"Brilliant deduction, Watson, care to listen to what Sherlock has to say next?" Haruhi eyed her friend worriedly, knowing how tired she must be.

"Alex, maybe you should head back to your house, you need your sleep-" Alex cut in, tired of this conversation that kept on repeating itself,

"I'm _fine__, _Haruhi. I got plenty of sleep."

"Four hours isn't-"

"I'm _fine. _Okay?" Alex tried to change the subject and said with a wry smile, "Who knew Shiro could smile?" Haruhi frowned, her and some of the other members eyeing her worriedly, but agreed.

"He looks like he's enjoying himself. With that smile on his face, I had no idea he could look sweet."

"Yeah," Tamaki agreed, a distant look in his eyes.

...

"There he is!" Mitskuni declared, pointing at the boy who was siting on the windowsill, "There's Shiro-Chan!" They watched as the girl from the photo approached Shiro, saying something to him. The voices were hazy, but they were able to make out the girl's piano playing just fine. Alex felt a small smile spread across her face as she listened, this being one of her favorite songs.

A girl walked through the doors and into the hallway, causing Tamaki to pull out a white rose and hold it out to her as he got down on one knee, "Pardon me, mademoiselle," He apologized, before smiling at her, "I have never seen a rose more lovely than you, my dear. Here, this is for you." The girl, with a huge blush, took the rose from him and stared at it as though she was enchanted. He spoke, "I was wondering if you could tell me anything about that young lady playing the piano? Do you know her?"

The girl nodded, "That's Hina Kamishiro."

"Her name is Hina?" Tamaki inquired, causing the girl to nod with a small smile.

"That's right," The girl confirmed, then said with a warning look in her eyes, "But you better not fall in love with her."

Tamaki was curious, if not slightly amused, "Why?"

"Didn't you know?" The girl questioned in confusion, surprised that this beautiful man knew nothing, "Hina has to move away soon. Her dad just got a new job in Germany, so they have to move there at the end of the week."

Nobody noticed the door opening. They only noticed when Shiro demanded, "What do you think you're doing!? I want you idiots to leave, _immediately!" _

"No can do, "Young Master"." Alex mocked, quoting Sebastian. Tamaki quickly stood up, his bangs covering his eyes so no one could read his expression, and quickly picked Shiro up and slung him over his shoulder.

"Ah, that's Mori-Sempai's technique!" Hikaru exclaimed in surprise when he saw the way that he slung Shiro over his shoulder.

"Don't steal other people's techniques!" Kaoru added, scolding Tamaki. Mori nodded in agreement, seeing how he hasn't had the chance to use his technique recently.

"Put me _down! _What are you doing!?" Shiro stopped struggling when he caught sight of Hina staring at him worriedly in the doorway. A small blush spread across his cheeks as he locked eyes with her before screaming and thrashing again."Put me down! Just let me go! Where exactly are you taking me!?"

"It's time to go gentlemen, ladies."

"Put me down you stupid King!" He thrashed and nearly fell off of Tamaki's shoulder. Tamaki, pacing a hand on Shiro's back, exclaimed irritated,

"Don't do stupid stuff kid!"

"IDIOTIC KING!"

"SHUT UP OR I'LL THROW YOU DOWN!" Tamaki tried to calm himself, angered, "You're the one being an idiot!" He lectured as they walked back to the High School, "How do you make a girl happy"? Don't make me laugh. Even if you asked us so much, we wouldn't answer you."

Shiro looked furious and confused at the same time, "What-!?"

"Because you don't want to make girls in general happy, no, you only wanted to make _her _happy, right? Hina Kamishiro. We can't teach you how to make her happy-that's something only _you _can do. When you like someone, you have to gather up the courage to tell them how you feel! You didn't come to me to be a full-fledged Host, you came to be a full-fledged _man_."

Shiro stopped thrashing and yelling. He merely looked down and let Tamaki carry him into the club room, saying, "Forget it...I'm out of time. I just wanted to hear her play, before she left for good." He let out a small gasp when Tamaki set him down on the ground next to a grand piano.

"That piece you played," Tamaki questioned as he pulled out a chair and sat down, "That Mozart Sonata D-Major for two pianos, isn't it?" He opened the piano cover and smirked, stretching out his fingers and running them along the keys, "Easy."

"Since when was there a piano?" Haruhi questioned. Alex blinked and grinned,

"Since forever."

Kaoru spoke, "Well, this _is _a music room after all." Hikaru nodded in agreement, smirking.

"So why wouldn't it have a Grand piano?"

"It_ is_ a music room, after all." Kyoya told her, just as Alex sat down at the table with him, Mitskuni, and Mori.

"It is a music room." Mori said in monotone.

"Its always been there," Mitskuni explained, ready to bite into a piece of cake, "We've just had it covered up."

Tamaki looked up at Shiro with a gentle smile, able to play beautifully without even looking at the keys, and said, "From what it looked like to me, that girl, Hina, wanted nothing more than to play the piano with _you_. You will spend your morning, lunch, recesses, and afternoon here with me in piano lessons.

* * *

**March 23**

**"Welcome, Princess," **The Host Club greeted as Hina opened the door and was gently pelted with rose petals. Alex, being the only girl, had to wear a white dress while everyone else wore white tuxedos. **"We've been waiting." **

Tamaki bowed to Hina, saying with a hand against his chest and a smile on his face, "I present to you,Shiro Takaoji's...," He slowly moved out of the way and extended an arm towards the grand piano that Shiro was sitting out, "piano recital." There was an extra one, just for Hina. Tamaki quickly walked towards the extra piano and pulled out the chair like a gentleman, extending a hand to the piano and saying with a smile, "If you'd please, Princess."

There was a small silence before Hina smiled at Shiro, Shiro actually smiling back. He said, "Let's play together, Hina."

She smiled at him, clearly happy, "Okay!"

Alex couldn't help but grin as she watched the show, and her grin only grew wider when she saw Tamaki and Haruhi smile at each other.

"We did a good thing," The blonde told Haruhi. She nodded, smiling softly.

"He loves with all his heart...So I guess, that's one more way that Shiro takes after you, huh, Sempai?" He looked down at her with a smile, enjoying the small look of surprise on Haruhi's face, but enjoying the smile that came after even more as he said,

"Why, yes, I'd say so."

Alex quickly poked Kyoya in the arm, causing him to look down at her with a raised eyebrow. She told him with a grin, ignoring the small bubbly feeling in her stomach and the fact that her face heated up slightly when he looked at her, "I think blondie's been holding out on us, huh? You should try and get him to play piano for the guests, I'm sure the girls will love that."

Kyoya smirked as he pushed up his glasses, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were complimenting Tamaki."

"Nope!" She punched him lightly in the shoulder, "That's Haruhi's job. However, when it comes to you, well, who else is gonna compliment you on scaring the crap out of people?"

He looked at her with slightly wide eyes for a moment before smirking, not saying anything as he turned his head back to stare at the kids playing the piano.

* * *

**April 2**

"So you're exchanging emails with Hina everyday now that she's in Germany?" Haruhi questioned curiously, slightly surprised. Shiro smirked,

"Yeah, more or less. I like her, but she can get _pretty _jealous for an Elementary school girl," He told Haruhi and Alex, surrounded by all of Tamaki's "Former" guests. He was officially a side-Host, seeing how he was still in Elementary. Shiro then addressed the girls, saying with a smirk, "She'd be upset if she knew I was with all you ladies, so let's keep this our little secret."

Alex spoke to Haruhi, slightly worried, "I don't know if I should be worried over the fact that he'll either be a heartbreaker or just an out-right playboy in the future." Haruhi sweatdropped at Alex and then noticed something.

"Hey, you look better today." Alex blinked at Haruhi in surprise, then realized what she meant. Alex was actually able to sleep without any nightmares last night, and it took more than just the twins jumping on her bed to wake her up. They literally _splashed _her face with icy cold water.

"Um, yeah, I was able to get some sleep last night."

"What about the last two, three weeks?" Alex lied easily,

"Yeah, plenty."

Haruhi didn't believe her and turned and walked away, clearly planning on talking to the twins. Alex sweatdropped, _Not my fault I can't sleep-blame Akari and that Angel dude she kept on ranting about. Speaking of that, why can't I contact her? _That was one thing that bugged Alex-Akari can contact her, but Alex can't contact Akari. And Alex _had _been trying, believe me, she was trying.

That's what she did when she couldn't fall asleep. She sit cross-legged and attempt to contact Akari, via mental link. So far, not working. Alex snapped out of her thoughts when Tamaki started to rage at the fact that Shiro had stolen all of his guests.

"You brat...what are you doing...those are _my _guests!" He snapped, flames appearing behind him. Shiro smirked at him.

"Looks like they've found someone better; it's so _easy_ to steal _your _customers. I think there's a _new _Host King in town."

Hikaru and Kaoru quickly grabbed Tamaki's waist and shoulders, attempting to hold him down.

"I thought he'd make it through without exploding this time!" Kaoru exclaimed, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to pin down Tamaki.

"We should've known he was going to blow up sooner or later!" Hikaru cried out, Tamaki struggling against them.

Haruhi said dryly, "Shiro really does have a lot in common with Tamaki-Sempai..." She looked at Alex for confirmation, "You getting the feeling that Tamaki-Sempai was a spoiled brat when he was a kid, too?"

Alex grinned cheekily when Tamaki forced his gaze onto them, "Oh, yes. Very."

"I was _not _a spoiled brat! I was nothing like him when I was a kid! I was a sweet, innocent, precocious child! You hear me~!?" After finally managed to calm him down, the twins sighed.

**"This is beginning to get exhausting..." **The twins then paused, remembering something.

... Later, at the Hitachiin Estate, at night...

Alex was currently on her laptop, refusing to go to sleep, when Hikaru and Kaoru barged into her room. She looked up in alarm, seeing them in nothing but their pajama bottoms, "What the hell are you two-hey, get off! No, not my laptop!" She shrieked when Hikaru picked her up and slung her over his shoulder while Kaoru unplugged her laptop and closed it. "Hey, where are you guys-No, get off!" She pounded her fists on Hikaru's back, "Let go of me! I'm not a ragdoll!" She grew more than alarmed when Hikaru and Kaoru carried her out into the hall and and after a few moments, opened the door to their room.

Alex's eyes widened frantically, all the worst possible scenarios entering her mind. Her thrashing started to get worse and Hikaru winced as he nearly avoided a kick to the face.

"Stop-thrashing!" He shouted and finally managed to throw her onto the bed, which was covered by Hikaru and Kaoru's blue and orange blankets. "There! Jeez, makes me wonder what you're reaction would be if Kyoya-Sempai did that?" Alex's face burned at the thought and growled through gritted teeth,

"Don't bring him into this! And what the hell were you guys doing!?"

"Haruhi told us that you weren't getting enough sleep," Hikaru began with a frown. Alex tensed and Kaoru noticed, continuing,

"And we noticed it also, so, as a solution, we're making you sleep with us to make sure you _do _sleep."

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no-" Hikaru realized why she was protesting so much and smirked.

"Do you _want _to sleep with us?"

"No! I wanna sleep in my own bed!"

**"Then we'll sleep with you." **

"No."

**"Yes." **

"You will not-!" She didn't have much of a choice as the twins were already climbing into the bed, wrapping their arms around her to make sure she couldn't escape. She wriggled a few times and growled, "I hate you both!"

"Hate you too."

"Night."

"Night."

"...I will murder you both painfully in my sleep." Alex sighed as the lights turned off, "You won't let me escape, will you?"

**"Nope." **

"...G'night." _Jerks..._

_..._

_"Al-Al-E-Lex-Ale-Ex-Al-Ex," The voice was full of static and hard to make out, and Alex barely recognized it as her own. A person, Alex only able to see the outlines of their face and body, formed in the pitch darkness. "Ho-ol-hol-ld-hold o-n-on." The scene flashed and Alex blacked, before waking up in a completely white room with no color whatsoever. She found herself lying on a bed with a pair of light brown eyes staring down at her. Alex blinked, blinked again, then again, and screamed. _

_Akari bolt straight up, standing while clutching her left arm. There was a nice, big bandage wrapping around from her shoulder to just below her elbow with blood stains. Her arm seemed to be completely useless-fitting, considering that's what Alex's arm was for the most part. Alex scuffled backwards until she had her back pressed firm against the cold white wall, ignoring the fear and horror that passed through her body at the images that went through her mind the moment her back touched the wall. _

**_Is that-Is that how her parents were murdered? _**_Alex was horrified. Her mem-**Akari's **memory of her and her parents murder was fuzzy in her mind, as it was not really **her **memory, but Akari's. The man was **vicious**. With the crazed look in his eyes, the blood splattered against his face and clothes, the smell of oil grease staining his hands and dagger... Alex swallowed and shook her, trying to push the memories that were Akari's out of her mind and focus on the girl herself. _

_Akari had cut her bangs, so they now hung above her eyebrows sloppily and she also wore a pair of black, thin-rimmed glasses. Around her was one of those light blue dresses that tied around the back with the white polkadots. Her feet were bare and dirty, as were her hands-they were calloused, as if working on a wood project. _

_"Al-Alex?" Akari's voice was soft and apologetic, her eyes sad and pained, "I-I need to talk to you. Please don't be angry with me." Alex was deeply confused. _

_"What-How are you able to speak properly, you were all statc-y a few moments ago-" She paused, before rage filled through her as tears welled up in her eyes as she glared at the shy brunette, "What the hell, Akari!? I've been trying to contact you for months! **Months**! Those days when I couldn't sleep-why the **hell **didn't you reply!?"_

_"I-I couldn't. It-it doesn't work like that, Alex." Akari spoke, flinching at the tone of voice, "It was the Angel's idea. Only I can communicate with you, you can't communicate with me-well, I can contact you. You can't contact me. That make sense?" She didn't seem to wait for an answer as she continued, "Anyway, I can-I can only contact you to inform you on something or in case I needed to do some important. Alex...I know I took your life away from you, and I know you hate me for it, so I wanted to try and pay you back as best as I could for giving me back my life." _

_Alex quickly put the pieces together, her gaze flickering over to Akari's bandaged left arm and then her own. She then looked at Akari's teary, red eyes and frowned deeply, panic flowing through her. She swallowed, voice raising in pitch slightly, "Akari...**what did you do?" **_

_The girl smiled apologetically at her and said, "You know that term, an eye-for-an-eye, or was it a saying?" Akari paused, confusing her self before shaking her head and giving a small, shaky smile at Alex. Her grip on her bloody right arm tightened and she swallowed, clearly in pain. "I...Well, Angel told me that I could give you back something that you would have never gained if I didn't take your life for my own, and that was if I got rid of something of mine that you already lost so you coudl get it back, unless we both have lost the same thing at the same time. Please don't be angry at me for doing this for you. I'm only trying to pay you back. I'm not **entirely **selfish." _

_Alex's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, completely and fully alarm. She could barely speak, her mouth forming the words but her voice refusing to come out. After a few moments, pain struck her arm and she cried out in pain, her head banging against the wall behind her and sending images flashing through her head. _

**_Twisted grin and greasy hands. Painful feeling of blade slicing through skin and meat. Anguished cried of those around her. Blood. Blood. Blood was everywhere. Covered the walls and covered the floor, covered his hands and his twisted, horrific face. Rotten teeth and gleaming brown eyes- _**_Alex jumped, barely snapped out of it as she fell off the bed and onto her left side, crying out in protest. Her arm **hurt**. Bad. It felt as though someone was sticking needles into her arm and yanking on them, causing her to bleed. _

_"A-Akari," Alex gasped, rolling onto her back and flinching in pain, a silent scream ripping out of her throat, "What-What did you do!?" She shouted before letting out a full-fledged scream. She could hear Akari's footsteps and barely registered the doppleganger lift her head and rest it on her lap, a bloody and calloused hand resting against the pained girl's cheek. Alex let out another scream, her arm appearing to have a spasm as the muscle and nerves moved back into the right places, forming and fusing together to go back to the way they were before the accident. She let out another piercing scream and Akari flinched, arms twitching as her nerves tried to make her cover her eyes. _

_Akari however looked down at Alex with a soft, sad smile, "I'm sorry..." Tears leaked from her eyes and trailed down her face, before splashing onto Alex's cheeks, fusing with her own tears. Alex was screaming so hard now, that her voice wouldn't even come out. "I'm so sorry, I'm trying to make this better, I promise. With full use of your left arm, you'll be able to live normally for the most part. You'll still have your scars, the Angel's powers won't rid you of them, but it will heal all the torn muscle and nerves and put them back in the right places. Okay? You won't have to hate on yourself anymore and you'll be able to live long." A small, bitter smile formed on Akari's childish features, "Maybe one day, I'll be able to sacrifice my life to bring back yours. Just like you did for me, right?" _

_Alex's back arched and her arm shot out, almost clocking Akari in the face as she let out another silent scream. _

_Akari calmly brushed a tear off of Alex's cheek with her thumb, smiling softly as she leaned down and kissed the girl's forehead. Akari closed her eyes as she watched Alex start to fade, the dream coming to an end and Alex's arm healing the rest of the way, "Wake up now, Alex-Chan. Those twins are getting worried about you. And keep in mind," Akari's voice started to fade, but it seemed like a whisper in Alex's ear, "there's no need to be afraid. You're home now, you're safe, and you have a new family that love you. I love you, too, Alex-Chan. You have given me so much, and at a great cost...Thank you...Stay brave for me?" _

Alex woke up to see two pairs of caramel eyes staring worriedly at her, clearly alarmed and frightened. Alex shot up and quickly wrapped her arms around Hikaru, as he was the closest twin, and buried her face into his shoulder as she cried.

**Note, I will MOST LIKELY be REWRITING the last chapter. It disappointed me. Ten again, the rewrite might disappoint me even more. Who knows? I tried to make this chapter betterthan all my other crappy ones I wrote. XD Sorry for the, um, graphicness and horror of some of these chapters. **


	15. Attack of the Ootori Group

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably _So in Love with Two, _by Mikaila. I don't own any anime or their characters. I only own Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler references...and others. MIGHT change her theme song...**

**Oh yeah! Also, thanks to Descending to making me feel better! I never really been so worried about how a fanfic I wrote was gonna turn out before, so yeah. Thanks! :)**

**April 3  
**  
"No." Kaoru spoke, looking down at Alex sternly. She glared at the teen, angered. "You are _not _leaving." Hikaru nodded in agreement with his brother, looking down at the girl worriedly and a little freaked out,

"_Not_ after what happened last night-_what the hell _was that? You were-You were having a _seizure_ or something! Kaoru and I woke up and found you thrashing around the bed, your arm-" He didn't know how to explain it. He shook his head and tried again, "You were..."

"You were _screaming, _Alex." Kaoru put in, saving his brother. Alex frowned at them, irritated at them for refusing. She softened up a little when she heard the tone of voice they were using though. Kaoru continued, frowning worriedly at the petite girl and said, "It wasn't the normal screaming you used to do from your nightmares," Alex tensed at that and looked at them with wide eyes. She cut in, mouth slight ajar from shock.

"You knew about those-" Hikaru cut her off, snapping as he glared at her,

"Of _course _we know about those! What do you take us for; idiots!?" Alex flinched at his harsh tone and shrunk back into the blankets.

It all started when she woke up in the morning after falling asleep from crying so hard. Hikaru and Kaoru were gone and the sheets were slightly cold, so she glanced at the clock confusedly only to see the time and realize that they didn't wake her up for school. She shouted and cried out in alarm and protest, causing Hikaru and Kaoru to barge back into the room confused with scared looks on their faces. Seeing them, she demanded why they didn't wake her up for school.

_**"You're not going to school,"** _They had told her, causing her to grow confused. She asked and demanded why, only to get multiple responses at once before an argument started.

Alex didn't know how to reply, shocked into silence. She ransacked her brain for all the knowledge she had for comebacks, trying to come up with something to tell them. She let out a strangled noise in the back of her throat from frustration, a string of words that made no sense escaping her lips as she fumed. She blurted, not liking it when other people tried to boss her around, "Why _not_!? It was just a bad dream-a very _realistic _dream! I should still be able to go to-"

**"No." **

"You are either going to go to a hospital," Kaoru began, frowning deeply at Alex.

His brother finished, "Or you are going to stay home. _Here._"

"I don't need to go to a god damn hospital!"

"Well, what do you suppose we do!?"

"Just-I don't _know! _I'm fine!"

"Alex-"

"Just go to school! You know, the place I'm _forbidden _to go too!" Alex had never really a rebellious teen or anything like that, nor does she try and snap at her friends or family- but _not _being allowed to go to a place where she's _able _to hang out with her friends? She could care less about school, if she was honest, but it was the only time of day that she really ever saw her friends-and the Host Club. But apparently she's not allowed to go their either, so... "Leave me alone." She said, diverting her gaze as she was much more quiet now. She didn't want to hear it. "Just-Just go..." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, all anger gone. She didn't like to fight. She was sarcastic, yeah, but she hated to fight. She'd defend her loved ones if someone was attempting to hurt them, but she would most likely end up shouting at the person or being a complete smart-ass. Like with Ayanokoji when she shouted at the girl and used sarcasm and knowledge to hurt her-to get back at her for hurting Haruhi. _  
_

She didn't like hurting people.

Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged glanced at each other, then looked back at Alex uncertainly, before back at each other and sighing in defeated unison.

"Fine, but don't do anything stupid." Hikaru told her sternly, eyeing her intently and slightly suspiciously. Kaoru nodded in agreement, even though his expression was slightly softer.

"Exactly. And Alex," The brunette looked at them with tired eyes, clearly exhausted. Kaoru paused for a second, almost freezing at the look in her eyes. Her normally cheerful brown eyes look haunted, tired, _defeated _as she stared up at him. She had that look...The look of someone lost, not knowing what to do with themselves. That look was probably worse than one of fear, or outright terror. Maybe even crying. Kaoru quickly continued, trying to get that image out of his head, "if...if something like that-like what happened to you _last night_, call us. Doesn't matter if it's during the middle of class, just...call."

Alex paused, sighing. She blinked, and when she looked back up at him, the look was gone. She didn't even seem to realize that she had that look. Instead, she looked at him with raised eyebrows and a disbelieving face. She said, "Are you-Dude, I don't even _own _a cellphone." She barely had time to blink before Kaoru looked at Hikaru, who was rummaging through his pockets furiously before whirling out a green flip-phone and shoving it into her hands.

"There! We have our numbers already installed in your phone on your contacts, so text us or something if something happens to you! Got it? Kaoru, come on." Hikaru whirled around and grabbed his brother by the hand, leading him out of the room. Alex blinked, watching them as they left, and once they were gone she stood there in silence for a few moments before tentatively opening her phone.

She made a face. _Buttons, lovely. What happened to the I-phone? It's still 2014 here...I remember my brother having one... _She hated phones with buttons, but beggars can't be choosers. If anything, Alex knew that well. She fumbled about with the phone for a few moments before finally managing to open the contacts. Her eyes widened in surprise-the entire _Host Club _was on there! Hikaru and Kaoru's were at the top, with Kyoya just underneath them. She almost rolled her eyes, but decided not to. Underneath him was Tamaki, then Mori and under him was Mitsukuni, and underneath that name it was Haruhi and Renge. _Why is Renge on here? Ah, well, who knows? _Actually, Hikaru and Kaoru probably did, but they were most likely on the other end of the mansion by now.

She sighed and closed the phone, running a hand through her hair before shivering. The room was cold and she was wearing nothing other than a gray tanktop with thick straps and a pair of blue mini-shorts that stopped at mid-thigh. She never actually wore something like that in public, seeing how it was what she normally wore as pjs. She preferred baggy shirts with skinny jeans, possibly ripped skinny jeans, and short that stopped at her knees, or maybe even a little higher. She might as well get dressed...

She paused in her though process and looked at her left arm, able to remember the pain she had felt-the agonizing _torture _that made itself known. She remembered Akari's words as she gazed at the scars on her arm and shoulder, before tentatively raising her arm up...her hand reached to her head-which was its limit, according to her therapist, and attempted to raise it higher.

A strangled scream rushed through her lips when she was able to raise her arm up all the way. She didn't know how to feel. Angry? Relieved? Terrified or just frightened? Should she shout for the twins or keep quiet? Wouldn't it be weird if her failure of an arm was able to work again? What was she supposed to do?

Quickly reeling her arm down and grabbing it, clearly freaked out, ran into the twins bathroom to see if anything was different in her appearance. She looked on the mirror and held her arm to her side, pressing it against her hip tenderly before forcing herself to relax and let her arms both go limp. She inhaled deeply and released her breathe, and looked in the mirror.

Her shoulder no longer looked stiff and held up unevenly to her other shoulder. If she put on a jacket to cover the scars, no one would suspect anything and think she was normal like everyone else. She wouldn't be "Damaged Goods" or whatever people would call her because of her scars. She would only be..."_Scarface_". She bit her lip and blinked her eyes rapidly in an attempt to make the tears vanish. She shook her head and headed back into her room, grabbing a black tanktop with a green, one-shoulder shirt with multiple tears in the stomach and tears in the chest area and straps. She also put on a pair of blue mini-short that stopped above mid-thigh and a pair of brown leggings. If she was going to wear mini-shorts, she'd at least put leggings on, in public. She slid on a pair of black lace fingerless gloves and black boots that added two inches to her height. She also wore a black choker around her neck with a rainbow peace sign on it, that when she changed direction, looked like a yellow smiley face.

* * *

"Here are your X-rays, miss." Alex gave the Doctor a hesitant smile and took the envelope from the man, nodding at him.

"Thank you," She told him as she stared intently at the envelope, hoping that she was dreaming and that Akari didn't-that she _didn't _do something so incredibly _stupid _and self-harming.

"May I ask, if you don't mind that is, what you need the X-Rays for?" Alex paused in her thinking and shook her head.

"It's just...I just wanted to double check something. Thanks though." Quickly stuffing the envelope into her brown, flower-printed purse-which was a gift from Misaki for being "Such a nice Mistress", she left the room and wandered about aimlessly until she found the cafeteria.

Sitting down with her tray of cheese pizza, she placed the bag on the table on her right. She ate quickly, and was about to get up to get another slice when a voice stopped her.

"You...Ayuzawa, correct?" She turned her head and looked at the man in surprise. He looked the same as he did the first time she saw him, and unlike before, she was nervous this time. His dark hair was parted to the left, a similar fashion to his youngest brother, and his cold brown eyes stared at her behind glasses, observing her every movement.

"Hi, er, Yuuichi-_Doctor _Yuuichi." Alex flinched, not used to using titles. Wait, no, hold on, "Wait, Dr. Ootori, right?" The man stared at her before nodding, noting coldly, still as stoic as ever,

"Finally picked up some manners, I see?"

"I've always had them, thanks. I just choose not to use them unless necessary. I have my moments though," She paused and added as an afterthought, "Albeit more often than I liked, but oh, well." She shrugged, trying to not appear intimidated by the tall and stoic Ootori. Well, she wasn't _really _intimidated by him, it was just the _aura _that he put off that made her want to hide. She had a feeling that he didn't like her very much.

"Hm," He hummed in though as he continued to observe her. Oddly, Alex felt herself being reminded of Undertaker's theme song, _Taisou Gikyoku _and could almost imagine it playing in the background. She looked Yuuichi in the eyes however, refusing to give into weakness. She waited for him to speak and took a good two minutes for him to do so. He said, giving her a scrutinizing gaze, "Tell me, you know my brother don't you-Kyoya? How is he fairing?"

Alex almost wondered what was with the "fairing" before replying, "Uh, good. Well, he was last time I saw him," She laughed slightly as she reached over and rubbed her left arm. That seemed to be a new habit she developed when she got nervous. She cleared her throat and shook her head, looking back up at the 6'1 man, "He's doing great. Keeps everyone in the club in line, the usual. Managed to keep me from being killed from angry fangirls-all that lovely jazz.

"Yuuichi," Another voice spoke and Alex whirled around to see a man who stood about Kyoya's height, if not a few inches taller, with grey eyes and slight spiked up black hair with bangs, again, parted to the left. Alex inhaled sharply, realizing she was cornered. Not by just _any _people, no, she was cornered by Kyoya's older _brothers_-the very people he had to compete with for the company and held well-hidden jealousy towards. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, realizing how _thick _the air was around from tension. Akito Ootori paused and looked down at Alex, recognition flashing through his eyes at the sight of her. He spoke, voice not too deep but rather similar to a male teen you would find working in a Kroger store, "Ah, you are..._Alex,_ correct?" His face scrunched up a little, and that when Alex realized just _how _he said her name.

He pronounced it "Awr-rix" and that was when Alex realized that he must have been trying to speak in English, his accent not very good.

"Y-Yeah, I'm Alex Connors. You're Kyoya's brothers, right?" Akito nodded, giving her a small smile that Alex couldn't decipher if it was welcoming or cold. His eyes glinted with something that Alex decided that she didn't like, and continued, "I know the one behind me is Yuuichi," She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder with her right hand, pointing at the brown-eyed man. She then moved her hand back to point at Akito as she asked thoughtfully, trying to make sure she got the name right, "Akito, right?"

Akito nodded, confirming her suspicious. He then asked, still retaining his smile, "Yes, speaking of Kyoya, how _is _our baby brother doing? I'm afraid that we don't see each other often..." The only thing that would make this situation worse was if Kyoya's _father _came up and she really hoped that she didn't just jinx herself. She's seen the anime, she wasn't a big fan of him-at least, not until the end. She wasn't sure how much she felt about him in the manga though...

"He's doing good," She nodded, her left hand twitching slightly as she inched back towards the table, reaching towards her back. She ignored the slight uncomfortable feeling from being able to move her fingers all the way. She continued, hunger completely forgotten, as she slung her purse over her shoulder and made to pick up the tray, "as I said before, keeps everybody in line."

"And his academic grades?" Akito questioned, barraging her with questions, "His classes? What has that Suoh boy been up to? That Club of his, what was it? "Host" Club? Has he given up on attempting to managing the club and finally decided to place his attention on his studies? What about those twins-Have they been causing Kyoya any trouble? Has he-" Alex answered quickly, preparing to make her escape as she picked up the tray.

"Last time I checked her was top of his class, A's if I remember correctly, all pluses, Tamaki's been doing great and Kyoya's been keeping him in check, the Host Club is doing _awesome _with Kyoya as the manager and I'll have you know that I happen to be in that club, too, so please don't insult it or say it's a waste of time for we actually enjoy being in that club. Hikaru and Kaoru are great, yeah, they always cause people trouble but they haven't been doing anything too mischievous as of late and no, Kyoya has not decided to quit the club and if _did _quit the club I'd storm up to your all's house, barge into his room, pull him out off bed while he's still in his pajamas, and drag him to the music room. That good? Yeah, um, gotta go, nice talking to you two!"

Alex quickly walked away, using as much energy as she could into power walking as she placed her tray on the "Tray counter" and gripped her purse tightly, hurrying away and avoiding the two Ootoris' as much as possible. She turned her head slightly, not so much that it was visible to the brothers that she were looking back, but enough to catch a glimpse and see their father walking up and demanding why they weren't working.

Alex, feeling her heart stop in slight panic and...maybe fear, caught their father's eyes. The world around them seem to fade to black-and-white as the two stared at each other briefly, electricity appearing to crackle around in the air. Why did she get this feeling that his brothers and father didn't like her very much?

**(A.N. I kinda want to draw that scene now...XD)**

Alex's foot tapped against the ground impatiently, waiting for the school bell to ring. After that encounter, she found it impossible for her mind to relax and found herself riding in the limo towards the school, waiting for Hikaru and Kaoru to walk out. She was too _active_, too alarmed, to calm down. Quickly stopping in her tapping of her foot, she paced in circles, getting extremely impatient. She bit her lip, hesitant and uncertain, before inhaling deeply and sighing, making up her mind.

Quickly gripping onto her purse she headed towards the doors to the giant pink school, intent on making her way to the third Music Room. Ignoring the confused stares from multiple students that were leaving the school after their time in the club was up, she quickened her pace, looking around slightly nervously. Alex didn't understand _why _she was so nervous exactly, but she figured it probably had something to do with the fact that her best guy friend's, the guy she _liked_, father and brothers didn't like her. It almost makes her worried about what Fuyumi or his mother would think of her if they ever met-Alex almost paused in her steps.

_Whoa, whoa, whoa-rewind! I am **not **thinking about him introducing me to his family, right? No. Bad thoughts. Not doing it, nope._ She shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts, and stopped as the intricately designed door that was made from wood and smoothed so well, that when you ran your hand across it, you wouldn't feel any niches or get any splinters. It was truly well-made. She shook her head and pushed the doors open, quickly jumping out of the way to avoid rose petals getting belted at her face.

**"Welcome," **Multiple voices greeted and Alex bit her lip as she gained that feeling of _deja vu_. The petals quickly swirling past her and landed on the floor in the hallway, Alex stuck her head into the room and opened her mouth to speak, only to flinch when Hikaru and Kaoru exclaimed,

**"Alex!?" **

Hikaru quickly cursed at her, glaring, "What the hell are you doing here!? We told you to stay at home!"

She looked up and opened her mouth to speak, only to get cut off _again, _this time by Kaoru, "Why didn't you stay at home, Alex? You could be sick with something and we don't know what! It might be contagious-"

"I'm _fine_." Alex cut in, slightly annoyed at being constantly cut off before she could even speak. Having a slight "Eleventh Doctor" moment, she exclaimed, running her right hand through her bangs and causing them to stick up in a similar fashion to the tenth Doctor's before falling back into place a few moments later, "Why does nobody listen to me!? Do I just have this face that nobody listens too!?"

Haruhi glanced at the twins with furrowed eyebrows, catching onto how worried they were for the small girl, and listened when Mitsukuni questioned worriedly, "Lexi-Chan's sick? Are you okay, Lexi-Chan?" Alex blinked when Mitsukuni ran up to her, holding onto to Usa-Chan tightly as he stared up at the girl who was only a few inches taller than him, "Do you need to see the Doctor? Oh! Have you come back 'cause you thought Kyo-Chan could help since his family is full of Doctors?"

At the mention of Kyoya's family, Alex tensed as she sweatdropped, biting her lip as she stared down at the adorable blonde, looking him in the eyes. SHe spoke, trying to hide her nervousness, "Um, yeah, about that...I kinda already _met _most of his family today..?"

Kyoya's gaze shot over to her intently as his glasses flashed. He spoke, calm but inwardly angered and worried, "Who did you meet?"

Alex shifted on her feet uncomfortably, holding her bag with her left hand tightly as her right hand moved over to scratch her left arm. A sure sign of nervousness and being uncomfortable. To Kyoya, she looked like one of those kids who got caught stealing a cookie before dinner-He was almost amused, realizing that he made the same deduction about the petite girl before. The way she stuck out her bottom lip slightly as she pouted, her eyebrows ever-so-slightly furrowed, and the way her cheeks became a light red as she tried to fight back an embarrassed smile. She was adorable-Kyoya paused, realizing what he just thought, before quickly clearing his head. He already knew he harbored _some _form of affection for the girl, but he wasn't sure just how deep that affection for her was.

She was, for a lack of a better term, highly appreciated. Despite her childish antics and her goofy nature, she was actually rather intelligent in most subjects and rather level-headed, never getting _angered _by the twins or Tamaki's antics. Childish, yes, angered, no. She also paid quite a bit of attention to detail which was actually quite helpful in most cases, and she also makes decision based on logic, thinking, and rationalizing. Once she had most, if not all, of the facts and would most likely get a positive reactions, she would go head-first into a situation. While Tamaki on the other hand, would just barge in without thinking and screw everything up. It was nice, if he was being honest, to have someone like her around. She was also loyal to her friends, as shown in the incident with Ayanokoji, though also worrisome about things.

It took a few moments before Alex spoke, looking at him straight in the eyes, "Your-Your brothers...Yuuichi and Akito...I was walking away when your dad popped up." The room grew silent and she continued, trying _not _to freak everyone out, "But-But I only spoke with Yuuichi and Akito! Though I did end up locking eyes with your dad...I don't think they like me very much." She laughed nervously, gripped her left arm tightly. So many memories came with that arm...and both were painful-_extremely _painful. "A-Anyways, I'm not sick, I went to the hospital and got some X-rays and stuff done. So," She she pointed at Hikaru and Kaoru, giving them both looks, "No more attempting to lock me up inside that mansion of yours for all eternity, got it!? I'm _not _sick, nor am I having a seizure! I stopped having those when I was eight!"

She gained some confused and worried looks at that. Slight uncomfortable, she shifted on her feet again, "A-And, well, yeah. There you go. I wouldn't have come here anyway if the club didn't take so long to end." At their looks, she added as an after thought, "I was bored."

Mitsukuni, seeing Tamaki taking a deep breathe as if he was about to barrage her with questions, tucked Usa-Chan into his side and grabbed Alex's left hand, tugging on it and causing her to look down at him in confusion and curiosity. _Either he's about to ask me to eat cake with him or tell me something important..._

"Hey, Lex-Chan, wanna have some cake with me and Usa-Chan?"

_Called it~! _She sang in her head, blinking at the boy. Alex wasn't really in the mood for sweets-nor was she ever, really, but nodded slightly.

"Y-Yeah, sure...can I have a small slice, though?" Mitsukuni smiled at her widely as he led her away to his table with multiple guests already sitting there, Takashi following behind.

"Mm! Chocolate, right?"

**I really, REALLY hate Light Yagami...Watched episode 25 last night and ended up balling my eyes out...Damn you, Light! Damn you, Rem! Damn you-RAWR! So, depression time! That and I still have to deal with the stress of getting ready for Ninth grade, which school starts in three days, and that I apparently have Band Camp on Saturday and need to call my dad still to ask if I'm able to spend a few extra nights at my mother's house so I have a way to the High school...**

**R&amp;R **

**Oh! After I finish this story, what should I write about next? Blue Exorcist or Sword Art Online?**


	16. From Flirting to Bribery then Regret

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? _I'm Alive _from Black Butler. I don't own any anime or their characters. I only own Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler references...and others. CHANGED HER THEM SONG**

**April 3  
**  
Alex was really grateful that Mitsukuni was the way he was-he helped her take her mind off things with his childish nature. Mori also helped, as he let off a small aura of protection. It told her that he really cared about his cousin and wouldn't let anything happen to him. _It was nice_, Alex deducted as she shoved another piece of chocolate cake into her mouth. Holding back a wince at the amount of icing that was on it she chewed and swallowed. It took at least five or six minutes for the girl to finish her cake and when she did, she picked it up and excused herself from the table, heading into the kitchen to place it in the sink.

Turning on the faucet, she rinsed the plate off before sticking it in the sink with all the others. Looking at the all the dishes, she shook her head and sighed. _These people are insane...Do they expect the janitor or whatever to wash the dishes? _She let out another sigh before turning the water back on and reaching over for the sponge and soap.

...

She was in the middle of washing a plate when a voice spoke up behind her, causing her to jump and nearly drop the plate, a small scream escaping her lips.

"What did they say to you?" Whirling her head around, she looked at Kyoya with wide eyes. His eyes were dark, his lips turned down in a frown. She took note of a barely noticeable dark purple aura behind him. For a brief moment, she had a flashback to when she was challenging Kyoya. It was only a few months after she arrived and there was the Christmas Party that was coming up. She refused to wear a dress unless it looked like the one she used to have and she challenged Kyoya to get someone to make it. Clash of the auras. Kyoya repeated himself when Alex didn't answer, "_What _did they _say _to you?"

She blinked, placing the plate and sponge back in the sink, and rinsed her hands off before drying them with a towel. Placing the towel back onto the oven handle, she turned to face Kyoya as she stuck her hands into her shorts pockets. She said, nervousness bubbling up in her stomach as she recalled the shaky event, "Um, well, Yuuichi commented on how I learned "Manners" after I called him Doctor Ootori after a few moments of rambling and stuff, asked me how you were doing-Told him you were keeping everything in line, making sure Tamaki didn't do anything too stupid and kept the twins from killing me," She swore Kyoya's eyes just flashed in amusement for a short moment. She continued, confused as to why the song _Love is War _popped in her head, "That was when Akito popped up."

Kyoya's aura grew and Alex almost wanted to hide, but refused. For some reason, being around Kyoya gave her comfort. It made her feel like he wouldn't leave her-he wouldn't hate her and leave her to be alone. She felt safe. Despite that nagging doubt in her mind that said he would leave to her rot by herself, she trusts him with something she wasn't sure she understands fully.

"A-Anything, her started barraging me with questions, asking about your academic grades and stuff, if the twins have been causing you trouble, if you quit the club and finally decided to focus on your studies-_I _told him that if you ever quite the club I'd march up to your all's house and drag you out of your bed while you were still in your pajamas and bring you to the Host Club. And I also told him not to insult the club, as I was also a member and that we all rather enjoyed being in the club."

"You honestly believe you'd be able to drag me from my house to here?"

"Yup. I'd have the twins help." Kyoya almost felt a smirk form on his face, but he held it back as the situation with his brothers was far more serious than Alex was understanding.

"Wake me up before eleven and there might be some problems."

"Oh, right, the "Hypotensive Shadow King"...You don't scare me. My dad was AB, too. So was my sister." Pausing when she realized what she said, she swallowed, a small numb ache in her chest. It had been a while since she thought about her family.

Kyoya noticed and decided to get back onto subject, saying, "What gave you the impression that my brothers and my father didn't like you?"

She started to lift her fingers as she spoke, "One, the cold looks in the their eyes. Two, the false smiles. Three, the auras. Four, the fact that when they surrounded me I wanted to run out of there as fast as possible. That feeling of a caged animal that one gets? Yeah, I had it. _Five_, when my eyes locked with your dad's, I just gained this feeling that he _really _didn't like me." She inhaled deeply before sighing and shaking her head, turning back to finish the dishes. "Don't blame 'em, though. I wouldn't like me either." She gave a small laugh, but Kyoya detected the bitterness hidden in it.

Kyoya didn't know what to think. Her encountering his family members like that...If it was Fuyumi she ran into, he probably wouldn't be thinking about it so much, but his brothers and father... His brothers weren't the friendliest of people, and his father was cold and calculating. Even the calm, much more mature then his brother, Kaoru Hitachiin didn't like his brothers.

Alex could feel Kyoya staring at her and it was making her _slightly _uncomfortable. Ducking her head down she stared intently at the dishes she was washing.

Gaining an idea, he smirked.

Alex jumped in alarm when a chest pressed against her back, hands placed on either side of her on the counter and trapping her, warm breathe tickling her ear as Kyoya questioned, "Need help?" Alex had tensed, frozen to the spot as her heart pounded rapidly in her ears. She tried to calm her breathing as her face flushed.

"N-No-No. I'm-I'm g-good, thanks." She flinched at her stuttering. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! This is getting-This is getting ridiculous! _Alex bit her lip as she attempted to finish washing the bowl, movements stiff and almost robotic. Kyoya took note of this and smirked, eyes hiding behind his glasses.

"What's the matter, Alex? You seem tense." She inhaled sharply when his warm breathe grazed her ear and neck, trying to resist the urge to reach a hand up and rub her poor sensitive neck. Her fingers twitched and turned the faucet back on quickly, hurriedly washing the bowl off and placing it in the stack with the others. _J-Jerk! Damn you, you jerk! _

"I hate you..." She muttered to herself, trying to ignore the chills that were being sent down her spine. She held back a shudder. Her grip on the faucet handle seemed to tighten considerably as she tried to fight off the reactions he was causing her to have. She could feel the warmth of his body radiating onto hers, as his chest was literally _pressed _against her back, his arms barely brushing against her own as he trapped her.

"For being considerate?" If Alex turned her head to look at him, she would see the amused and triumphant look he had on his face. He continued, clearly enjoying this, "I only asked if you wanted help with the dishes. You don't have to be so spiteful about it."

She whirled her head around to glare at him, crying out in protest as her voice squeaked, "I'm _not!" _She inhaled sharply, breathing hitching when she realized how close his face was to hers. There noses were _this _close to touching. She swallowed the lump in her throat, her mouth suddenly becoming dry. She licked her lips and opened her mouth to speak, only to find no words come out-her mind completely blank as she stared at him. She furrowed her eyebrows and blinked, confused as to why she felt like this before blaming it all on Kyoya. Finally getting her voice back, she said, "I just want to do the-the dishes, okay? So-So, e-either do something other than-than _this," _She attempted to make a gesture with her hand, only to find that she had to raise her arm so it was overlapping his and her hand just above her eyes. She continued, "or-or leave."

They were both momentarily blinded by a flash of light and Alex blinked, turning her head to look at the source of it while Kyoya pulled back from Alex. He stood up straight and pushed up his glasses, pulling out his book and writing something down before crossing his arms.

Alex's eyes went wide at the sight of Hikaru and Kaoru grinning at them, a camera in Hikaru's hands. Hikaru's grin was by far _much _wider than Kaoru's, as he sang with a devilish smirk, "Kyoya and Alex, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-"

He screamed like a girl when Alex charged towards them, screaming as she attempted to get soap buds in Hikaru's hair, "What the fuck are you two doing!? Hikaru! What the _Hell!?" _

Hikaru barely dodged Alex's soapy hands and shrieked as he laughed, jumping onto a chair and over a table, "First come the baby! Then comes the carriage! then comes the-"

"_What are you, **kindergarten!?"**_ Alex demanded, pissed as she ran around the table and quickened her pace, ignoring the pain in her ribs from running so long, "Get your mind out of the gutter!"

No one notice Kyoya slip out of the room with an amused smirk on his face.

"Then comes the unlucky miscarriage!"

"I'd like to see _you _have a miscarriage, Ms. Hitachiin! Kaoru can be your husband! He's much nicer than you are at any rate!"

Hikaru turned his head at there, stopping as he was a good bit away from her, and stuck his tongue out at her with a grin, "Alright, Mrs. Ootori!" Alex's face flared red at that and her eyes went wide, before narrowing dangerously and being enveloped by a dark green aura, which seemed to darken into midnight. "Hoh, shit..."

Kaoru sweatdropped as he watched, shaking his head, "If I didn't know better, I'd think Alex was an AB."

"Oh, Hikaru~!" Alex sing-songed, giving him a sickly sweet smile. Hikaru paled, staring horrified at the smile that was being given, "Be a dear and give me that camera, love."

"Kaoru..." Hikaru began, taking a step back as he started to fear for his life. Kaoru looked up at his brother curiously, all the way on the other side of the room, "I think...I think Kyoya created a "Shadow _Queen_."

Her aura darkened even more and she snapped, charging towards Hikaru at a rapid speed, screaming, "There's _nothing _between us!"

Hikaru ran out of the kitchen, screaming for Mori-Sempai.

Giving up on chasing him she sighed. Kaoru, popping up from behind and startling her when he asked, "Then what was with that intimate scene?"

"In-_Intimate?" _She demanded, whirling her head and around and looking up at him with raised, disbelieving eyebrows. Pointing a finger at Kyoya as she waved her hand up and down, she cried out with slightly red cheeks, "That was _anything _but intimate! He was just asking if I needed help with the dishes and was reaching for a dish when you two popped up!"

Hikaru, poking his head out from behind Mori's back, questioned incredulously, "You call _that _asking for help with the dishes?"

Kaoru, wrapping an arm around Alex's shoulders and pulling her towards him, her head resting against his shoulder now, said, "Yeah. His chest was pressed up against your back, your noses barely touching. You were about to kiss, weren't you?"

_Soft lips pressing against her own, eyes widening as heat flared on her face. A tight grip on her arm. Soft, warm lips... _Her face turned cherry red at the memory of the Black Butler cosplay day. Her fingers twitched and she oh-so desperately wished she could slap herself right now, but couldn't because that would make her even more suspicious. _Okay, back off! Rewind! No! No, no, no, no! _In all honesty, her flashback and thoughts were probably only three seconds in total, because before she knew it she was shouting at the twins.

Dark eyes frowned, noticing, but not noticing, that something was wrong in this picture. Alex's fists were clenched and she was raising her arms above her head as she rapidly beat the twin brothers, frowning in annoyance. Something was _very _wrong in this picture, but what? _What am I missing? _He wondered to himself, narrowing his eyes as they hid behind his glasses. _Right underneath my nose... _He froze, eyes locking onto her left hand-specifically, her _fingers_. They were curled into a fist, something she should be unable to do with the stiff muscle and nerves. And her arm...she was raising it high above her head... _That isn't possible_, Kyoya thought as he pushed up his glasses, crossing his arms. _It's physically impossible... _

_"I died the moment that limo hit me."_

__"The person I like doesn't even exist anymore, so leave me____ ALONE!"__She may have not said it directly, but it was still there. He continued through his memories of the past six months, but a week later she had said...," _"More like I don't exist anymore...Stupid Akari, making a deal with that jerk and swapping places...I didn't want to die...Jerk._" Kyoya had a very strong memory, and could almost remember everything of his childhood and past years. And then there was that time, , _"Do you still think I'm crazy since I told you I "Died" when Hikaru and Kaoru ran me over with their limo?"_

_"Would he have let me die just so Akari could live!?"_

_" I _can't _because I'm _dead__! I died when that damn limo hit me and Akari stole my life from me!"__

__"She said herself that she is from the eight realm. The crystal does not lie; the girl tells the truth." Could she possibly be any more cryptic?"__ Reiko said that after Alex's visit at the Host Club... All the pieces were aligning together, and yet he still found it hard to believe them. How does one die and come back, only to say that they're dead? Who _was-_no, _is _Alex Connors? What is the mystery behind Alexandra Connors and the supposedly "dead" Akari Ayuzawa?

Her left arm was functioning, fully and properly, and he seemed to be the only one to notice.

There was a chiming of a bell, signaling the end of the Club.

...

Alex's grin faltered, her Iphone 4 staring her straight in the face. She blinked once, twice, then cried out in shock, "That's where you've been this whole time!? In my _drawer_!? Who the hell moves these things!?" Knowing that it was herself that did it, not wanting the twins to find her Iphone and mess with it, and lost it in the first place. "Wait...Great, two phones, lovely-Wait!" Quickly deciding that the green would be an emergency phone and the Iphone would be her regular phone, she pocketed the green and put in the passcode to her Iphone, quickly opening the "camera" and heading into pictures, smiling at the one of Kyoya's surprised face.

_I remember that one... Took it when Renge first appeared-Oh. **Oh.**_Quickly realizing why she was so annoyed back then she frowned, shaking her head. _Great, so I liked him around that time, huh? Dude, that was like...three or four months ago... Damn. _

"Alex!" She heard Misaki calling and blinked, walking over and opening the door. What she saw was _not _what she was expecting. What she _was _expecting was a dark haired, eighteen-year old in a maid outfit, smiling kindly at her with amused eyes, hands clasped in front of her to tell her if dinner was ready or something. She was _not _expecting said eighteen year-old to be accompanied by a tall man, around the height of 5'11, with neatly combed black hair and bronw-grey eyes, covered by thin-rimmed glasses with slightly pale skin. The man was dressed in a casual, but nice-looking, light blue shirt with a black jacket over it, a pair of grey jeans and sneakers to complete the look. On his wrists were a few bracelets. Misaki smiled at her, bowing, "You have a visitor."

"K-Kyoya!?" Misaki, standing up straight with her hands still clasped, smiled mischievously as she raised an eyebrow, taking note of no honorific. Guessing they were a couple and that they would rather be alone, she bowed again and started to make her way out, ignoring Alex's looks of confusion and desperation of her to stay there with them. Looking back at Kyoya with a slight red face, she stuttered, alarmed, "Wh-What-What-What are you doing here?" She flinched when she realized she repeated the word "What" multiple times. She sounded like a broken record. Opening her eyes, she found him with his trade-mark smirk as he looked down at her, his eyes hidden behind his glasses.

He was planning something. She knew he was.

And he was in her room...Her eyes widened and she quickly looked around, taking note of her messy desk and her laptop, and her eyes drifting over to the many stuffed animals on her bed. Her face turned so dark at that moment, she was sure she looked like a gummy bear. Alex didn't look like it, but she actually loved stuffed animals. Specifically bears. She swallowed as she turned her head to look at the man who was eyeing her room, observing it. She bit her lip when she saw the corners of his lips turn up in a small amused smile.

"I have a few questions to ask you, do you mind?" Alex frowned, not allowing him to enter any further to spare herself embarrassment by Shadow King.

"About?"

"Your arm." Her eyes widened and her heart stopped, before beating rapidly, realizing what was happening. She knew it. She knew it was going to happen. In all honesty, she tried to tell him before, before he knew _knew _her. But now that he did...what would he think?

_He's going to hate me...He's definitely going to leave me-think me a nutjob and stick me in the insane asylum. No, _another part of her brain argued, _he's your friend. He wouldn't do that. Have more faith. But he might... _Quickly racking her brain for a response, she remembered something her dad told her. Her trademark half-smirk half-smile formed on her face and Kyoya almost looked taken-aback, but quickly regained his composure.

She pointed at him, grinning with mischievous eyes, "That, my dear, is strictly confidential..._buuut_..." She trailed off, watching him raise an elegant eyebrow. _Again with that elegance...How can an eyebrow be "elegant"? _She wondered before continuing, shaking her head as she was easily distracted, "If you get me icecream or something, I'm sure I'll be willing to talk." _I can't believe I'm doing this...This sounds like I'm trying to con him onto a date or-or-shit, I just went there, didn't I? Damn it! _

Kyoya, quickly catching onto what she was doing, sighed before smirking, commenting, "You really are more trouble than you worth, you realize?"

She grinned at him, saying, "I've been told. But you wouldn't have me any other way, 'cause if you did, who would be there to bug you?"

"Tamaki." She pouted and complained, giving him a slight look,

"Jerk. You're mean."

"Do you want that dinner or not?" Quickly lurching forward she hugged the man, her cheek pressed against his chest as she exclaimed with closed eyes and a small blush,

"I love you!" Pausing at that, her heart almost stopping-once it continued she _swore _she could hear it pound, she quickly added, "I-You're my best friend! I love you-you're glorious, I love you!" _Please tell me that sounds like something I normally say... _

She relaxed instantly when his huge hand rested against her head, ruffling her hair slightly, "Moron."

"Jerk." She told him as she pulled back slightly and stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "You know you love me!"

"I wonder."

"Hmph!" Pulling away, she crossed her arms. She said, eyes closed, "Maybe I _won't _tell you anything after all?"

Her eyes shot open when something warm wrapped around her left hand, pulling her out of her stance and causing her to stumble as she was suddenly dragged along the hallway. Staring wide eyed at the big hand that covered her small one, she inhaled sharply. Kyoya was..._holding _her _hand_. His _hand _was in _hers_. It felt like electricity was racing through her body, making her even more alarmed and aware and active than before, her heart racing in her chest, _pounding _in her ears. Though...it was more like a him, as she was not really focusing on it, and more of the warmth that came from Kyoya's hand and how she felt...content, happy...safe. Cared for. She couldn't even _remember _why she was doubting him, she felt herself trust him more in this moment than ever. It was probably cheesy, but she didn't know how else to explain it.

"You'll tell me, because if you don't, I'm sure you'd look lovely in that maid outfit that Hikaru and Kaoru made a few months ago." She was confused for a moment, before paling considerably. Okay, maybe she didn't trust him so much in that moment.

"Sh-Shut up, jerk!"

**Totally wore a white-button up shirt, red suspenders, and a red bowtie on my first day of High school yesterday...And I did NOT know that we only were supposed to go to Home room on mondays, so I had to break it to the Gym this morning. Fun. AH, gotta love Doctor Who. SO tempted to bring my sonic screwdriver though...XD**


	17. Dates and Death and Tears, Acceptance

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? _I'm Alive _by Becca. I don't own any anime or their characters. I only own Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler references...and others. CHANGED HER THEMe SONG**

**Oh! I have officially decided the Alex's voice is Mai from the anime "Ghost Hunt". English dubbed, of course.**

**Alexandria- derived from the Greek name "Alexander" it is a feminine form of the name's meaning "Defender of Men". It has been used since the 13th century in England. **

"Okay, I'm out," Alex said quickly, finally realizing what a bad idea this was as they stepped out of the limo. Raising her foot in the air, she whirled around and started to walk away in a random direction, only to be pulled back when a hand gripped her shirt collar, "No! That-I said _ice cream_! Not a freaking _restaurant! _I take it back! I take it back; I'm not doing this!" _  
_

"You either tell me willingly or I force it out of you."

"No!"

"Alex..."

"Never! I'm sorry, but I-I can't do this!" Alex shouted, finally panicking. It seemed to be more difficult to tell Kyoya-just _thinking _about it made her want to shrink up and hide. These feelings confused her however, as she seemed to be perfectly fine telling the Black Magic Club, "I-I change my mind!" Grabbing his hand awkwardly, having to raise her hands up behind her head to even _grip _his hand, she tried to pry his fingers off, "Let go!"

"Why is your left arm functional?"

"What?" She cried out, alarmed as a small twinge of fear passed through her. She totally forget that the whole reason they were here in the first place was because he had noticed. _Figures that he'd notice my ARM and not me... No! **Not **going there, damn it! Quit it!_ She scowled mentally at herself before stumbling, "H-Huh? Oh, uh...surgery."

"I checked all the hospital documents and you were only there for X-rays." Her face flushed at Kyoya's reply and she shouted in frustration, releasing his hand and waving her arms about before covering her red face with her hands.

"I don't _know_! I-I don't-Don't _judge _me!" She ordered, turning her head to glare at him. She paused, mind going blank at the amused smirk he sent her. _Damn it, I hate it when he does that... _She can never think of a comeback when he smirks at her like that... "Jerk..." She grumbled to herself and turned her head, before having it shoot up with wide eyes and quickly shoving him back into the limo. He fell onto his back on the seat in surprise and she crawled in, sitting between his legs in the seat as he was on his back, and looked at the chauffeur with a grin, "Nearest ice cream shop, please! Thank you!" She told him once the limo started to take off.

Kyoya propped himself up with his elbows, staring at Alex in slight disbelief at the actions she just took. She was violent at times, yes, and sometimes rushed into things but that was only after she thought it through...She was starting to remind him of Tamaki with the one-track mind and spontaneous outbursts. He then paused in his deduction, noticing that the hyperactive girl was clearly nervous, despite how well she was hiding it. The fact that her fingers were tapping rapidly against her left arm was proof of that, and the way her eyes kept darting out to look out the window and around the limousine...

He sighed after a few moments, the car quiet. Alex jumped at the sudden noise and looked at him wide and alarmed eyes.

"What?" Did he say something?

"Nothing." He replied and Alex paused, before closing her mouth and nodding her head slowly.

"O-Okay..." _This is awkward...Why did I ever do this in the first place? _She was making a complete fool of herself. Kyoya must think her stupid by now. _Oh, yeah, 'cause I was bored and I wanted ice cream and to hang out with Kyoya...Damn it, brain! Stop it! _She really hated herself at times. It's no wonder why so many people dislike her.

"Young Master, we have arrived." The chauffeur spoke, causing Alex to jump again and Kyoya to look at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"Very well. Don't wait for us, just come when I call." The chauffeur nodded and allowed them to get out, before taking off in a random direction.

Alex stood there, ignoring the stares passerby's were giving her and Kyoya, feeling completely stupid and self-conscious. _I'm a freaking idiot... _She jumped and whirled around in alarm, a small squeak escaping her lips when she turned her head to see who it was. Crying out in annoyance, she demanded, "Will you stop popping out of nowhere!?"

He smirked at her, causing her to falter, "No. You're reactions are amusing." She felt her face turn red-whether it was from embarrassment or what, she didn't know.

She stuttered, "I-I-I am not! You're crazy! N-Now, come on," She awkwardly grabbed his wrist and started to drag him away to the ice cream parlor, "We don't have all day!" _I sound ridiculous! D-Damn you, Kyoya... _

"Get ice cream, then you can insult me, Alex." Kyoya told her as he let her drag him to the stand. A few people watched them-the ages varying from teenager to elder, commenting.

"Are they rich?"

"He's so handsome!"

"What's with the scar on her face?" Alex paused at that, faltering in her step for a moment at the sentence, before quickly continuing her pace. _Ignore them, ignore them, ignore them- _"It's _hideous_. How'd a girl like that score a guy like him?" Biting her lip, her grip on Kyoya's wrist tightened ever-so-slight, _Shut up! I don't judge you, so why are you judging me!? _What did she ever _do _to them? Her face hardened as she walked, trying to ignore them. "Plus, look at what she's wearing!" The teenager told her friend, being a total hypocrite when she said, "She's totally trying to get him to look at her with those _slutty _clothes-"

Alex jumped when the wrist in her grip vanished, only to feel something slide around her waist and press her against someone's side. Looking up in surprise, she saw Kyoya with a hard look on his face-clearly angry about something. She frowned, worried, but froze in surprise when he whispered to her, voice low but face still looking towards the parlor,

"Don't listen to them." She felt her face heat up and felt her heart beat faster-as she was in just the _right _position with her arm against her chest that she could feel it beat. His breathe tickled against her ear and shiver a small shiver go down her spine-_damn him_.

"Don't tell me that they're actually _together_?"

The girl's friend mumbled to herself, slight annoyed by the way her friend was acting, "I think they look cute together...Ah, Izayoi, I think that guy's glaring at you from the corner of his eyes..."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Alex lifted her chin up and strengthened her walking, attempting to act unaffected. That was who she was after all. She was insecure emotionally; she hid her true feelings, at least she attempted too. Kyoya noticed and tightened his grip on her waist, arriving at the parlor. He looked down at Alex, "What do you want?"

"H-Huh? O-Oh, uh..." She quickly strolled down the list of ice creams and just chose a simple cheap one-as it was someone else paying, "I-I'll take a small chocolate..."

"A small chocolate, please?" The old man smiled at them and quickly put down their ordered, getting the ice cream cone ready. Kyoya was already pulling out his wallet, releasing his grip on Alex's waist. Alex felt...disappointed at that, missing the warmth of his hand on her side.

"Nice to see a youngster out there with a proper mind nowadays." The man commented, causing Alex to look up at him confused. "People are always messing around and acting like hooligans-especially 'round someone they find pretty. And _only _pretty; they never bother to look on the inside and only look on the out. But you, sir, you must know what I'm saying." Handing Alex the ice cream cone, he took the money from Kyoya and continued, "You do, don't you? You looked on the inside..."

Putting his wallet into his back pocket, Kyoya said with his eyes hidden behind his glasses, "I merely tend to find that beauty is often overrated and judged to the extent of expectations forming, and when those expectations aren't met the person they found beautiful are harshly treated."

_Is this going somewhere? _Alex wondered, staring confusedly between the two men, _Wait..they aren't-they aren't referencing my scars are they? _Feeling self-conscious again, she mumbled a small thank you and hesitantly licking the ice cream. Her eyes widened in surprise; despite being here for seven months, she hadn't had ice cream, and this tasted _delicious! _Then again, she rarely ate sweets, so...

"This is good..." The man laughed at that.

"Are you a shy one?"

"Hah?" She questioned in confusion before looking up at Kyoya surprised, "You didn't get one?"

He replied easily, obviously having said this to multiple people before, "I don't care for sweets." Alex pouted, once again looking like a child who didn't get a cookie from a jar.

"I don't either, but I still eat them sometimes! Here," Before she even realized what had done, she had held the ice cream up to Kyoya's face. Her face turned slight pink at the realization of her actions when Kyoya blinked at her and questioned,

"Alex?" Opening her mouth to come up with an excuse and an apology, she was taken by surprise when Kyoya suddenly grabbed her wrist and leaned forward, biting off the top "Hershey kiss" looking part of the ice cream. Her face turned bright red as she watched him pull back with a small thoughtful look on his face. "A bit too sweet for my liking, but it isn't terrible." He had yet to release her wrist. Face turning even darker, she stumbled over her words before finally managing to say,

"S-See? Told you so! Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kyoya, really, _it's appreciated_."

"Come on," He said, turning and walking away, leaving her to stumble after him as she tried to catch up.

"W-Wait up!"

* * *

"Where are we?" Alex questioned curiously when they arrived to a park of some sort.

"The Rose Garden. Didn't you notice when we entered onto School grounds?" Her eyes widened in surprise, realizing that he was right. She was so distracted by, er, um...him...that she didn't really notice.

"Y-Yeah, of course I did! Why wouldn't I? Geesh, thanks for the vote of confidence-" She paused, realizing that she already said that. Her face flushed red from embarrassment and she looked down. She cut herself, biting her lip nervously as she looked around the garden, trying to focus on anything other than Kyoya's hand in her own. "Um, why are we here?" She really hated herself at the moment. She sounded like a love-sick school girl! She shivered mentally at the thought, _Ugh, frightening. Damn it... _

"I figured you would want some privacy when you explain. I managed to get the twins off track a while back at the ice cream parlor." Alex sweatdropped, realizing that the twins she saw earlier _had _to have been the brothers.

"They would do that, wouldn't they?" Before she had even realized it, they were at the cathedral-like building at the middle of the garden. "Um, so...where do you want me to start?" She asked as she sat down, glad that she had finished eating her ice cream an hour ago. Kyoya sat next to her, resting his chin on his palm coolly as he told her,

"From the beginning would be preferred." She nodded slowly, blinking uncertainly.

"Right, well...Um, okay, first things first, what do you know of the whole "Other half" thing?"

"The soul mate concept?"

"Um, no. Okay, never mind, I'll explain." She took in a deep breathe and tried to remember everything Akari told her. "Okay, well, basically, the "Other Half" is actually another you. Um, you know that that Greek myth or whatever about how people originally had two heads, four arms and four legs and stuff like that?" Kyoya nodded, "Well, when a "god" split them up, he placed them in two completely different dimensions. I came from the "eighth" and this is the "Third". Well, when Akari "Vanished" ten years ago, she really _did _die. She's dead. Or, was supposed to be. An "Angel" as she called it offered her a choice. Wait until her "other Half" died in her dimension in a completely blank white room with no contact with people, she would be able to switch places with me. It wasn't her time to die, which was why she was offered the choice. I think she said that he said... "I will give you both life, but you shall be in her place, while she shall be in yours". Get it so far?"

Kyoya was silent, eyes hidden behind his glasses, for a few moments. He nodded, "Continue."

"There are ten dimensions in total, by the way. Well, anyway, I died in a car crash-_not _a limo. Though, it may have been a limo, I don't really remember. All I remember is..." She paused, freezing as fear trickled down her spine at the memory. Now that she actually thought about the events that happened...she was scared. She had _died _there. She had _died_ when that vehicle hit her...and was brought _back _by that person Akari bargained with. She had died and was revived...

And that was when she realized it-she was scared. Sure, there were bugs that creeped her out and the heights that she wasn't too fond of and that stupid fear of being alone...But now, now she realized the complete _truth _about that fear. Her fear of being along...it wasn't just that.

She was scared of _dying_. Alone. She didn't want to die _alone_.

She snapped out of her thoughts when a hand cupped her cheek, turning her head forcefully. Her eyes locked onto Kyoya's in confusion, and it was then that she felt that familiar feeling of something wet streaming down her cheeks. She blinked and quickly pulled back, alarmed. Raising her hands up, she wiped furiously at the tears that started to fall. She sniffled, swallowing the lump in her throat, and continued,

"A-Anyway, as I was saying...I-It was my birthday and I just received a book from my friend-she was the librarian of a library I often visited, and I started to walk home. A man bumped into me and was heading the same way I was headed, so I figured he was just in a rush. Then I heard the old lady scream. I thought, "What the Hell" and turned the corner, figuring she fell or something as she was screaming "Help", only to find the man trying to take her purse. I ran up and hit him in the back of the head with the book, grew pissed when he stepped on it, kicked his leg, and nearly got my head shot in by a gun." She tried to speak as nonchalantly as she could, as if she didn't care. She didn't think it was working very well, though, "I froze, in shock, before making my body move and run into the street, and barely turned in time to feel the-the car _crashing _into me and-and cr-crushing my bones and..._and, _well," She swallowed, trying to calm her voice as it cracked, "Well, red flashed in my vision and before I knew it Hikaru and Kaoru were standing above me and without even thinking I stood up and took the bullet. I woke up in the hospital, Akari planted her memories inside my head and copied mine, told me about the whole "other half" thing and the "angel" and, well, The End. Ta-Dah!" She stood up, ready to leave.

"That doesn't explain the arm."

Alex snapped, tears stinging her eyes as she glared at Kyoya, "_She practically destroyed her own arm for me!" _Kyoya's eyes widened, surprised. He even looked a little intimidated, before frowning deeply and regaining his composure. She took in a deep breathe, trying to relax herself as she explained briskly, "Okay, look, if she had something that I had lost, she could "lose" that and "give" it back to me. So, she got rid of the use of her arm to give me use of _my _arm, got it? She's too fucking _selfless _to even _think _correctly! So shut up and leave me alone!"

She clenched her fists, pausing once she realized what she did. She quickly shook her head and whirled around, storming away in a fit.

Only to have a hand grip her lower arm tightly and whirl her around, pulling her into a chest as arms wrapped tightly around her. This...This seemed to bring back a memory. A memory of a very similar moment in a very sad place in time. After she snapped at the Host Club, she had ran into this very garden and cried, cutting herself with the thorns on the roses. Kyoya had come and yelled at her, putting her back in her right mind, before embracing her in a very similar fashion to this one.

"Why do you sound so angry?"

"B-because, she...she took my _life _from me. My friends, my _family-_everyone I-I...I loved them and she-they..." She had to blame them, otherwise, she didn't know what she'd do.

Alex was intelligent, Kyoya knew that. Sure, she didn't act it at all-but whether she knew it or not, Alex wore a mask. She acts childish and immature and completely _idiotic, _but underneath that...She was intelligent. She was smart and perceptive and deeply loyal, not to mention _highly _sarcastic. But here. In this moment.

This was probably the only moment Alexandria Connors had ever struck him as an complete and utter moron. So, he told her-

"Alex, have you ever come to think that perhaps if they didn't take you away, you would be six feet in the ground?" _  
_

She paused; Alex never thought about it that way. Kyoya's grip tightened gently around her.

"She gave you another chance at life-so take it and accept it. Stop being a damn _moron _and_ sulking_ about it!" He growled, raising his voice just a smidge. "She's selfless because she is, and you're selfish because you are! Now quite pitying yourself; it's getting annoying!"

Kyoya was cool and collected, damn perceptive and sneaky, always wearing that mask of his that she managed to peel off...and when he blurts out his feelings, it's always harsh.

She felt a small smile cross her face at his words, despite the contradiction of the statement. He was embracing her tightly, but was screaming at her to stop complaining...There was something wrong here.

But she never felt more comforted or cared for in her life when he does.

She spoke, voice quiet, "You know, Kyoya...That wall and mask you wore when I first met you?" The man seemed to tense, surprised once again. Alex seemed to have that quality about her; always surprising him and making him act different, "I think I took them from you a little too quickly...I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." She bit her trembling lip, the tears starting to stream down her face again, "I'm-I'm always crying, I never seem to stop...I'm pathetic, aren't I? I'm sorry..."

Kyoya sighed, "You think too much. You should get back to the Hitachiin estate; Hikaru and Kaoru are probably wondering what you're doing." Alex wrapped her arms around his waist, not wanting to let go just yet.

"I'm sorry...for being so clingy." Why was she doing this? What was wrong with her? This is seriously starting to feel like some _extremely _crappy fanfiction. But, she was starting to wonder if it was a little more than _like_ that what she was feeling. "Just...don't leave, 'kay? If you do, I'll go down to your house and drag you out in your pajamas."

"Good luck with that."

"Shut up." She mumbled, listening to the calm beating of his heart. She doubted Kyoya really cared that much, despite all the signs she saw he kept giving her, but she couldn't help but think...

What is the difference between _like _and _love_?

She read about it. She was told that if the person you "loved" got mutilated in the face or become paralyzed, and you cared enough to stay with them despite it, that you loved them.

But Alex felt that way about all her friends.

_So how can one tell? _

* * *

Three days later. **April 6, 2014. **

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-Please don't kill us, Haruhi!" Alex pleaded, hands clasped together as the Hitachiin twins hid behind her. They had their hands on her shoulders, heads poking out from behind her as they looked at Haruhi frightened, "It was their idea, I swear! I didn't want to go either, but they made me! I swear-please don't hurt me!"

Haruhi continued to give the three of them sour looks, but after Alex's sincere apology, she resorted to just glaring at the twins.

Haruhi was wearing a yellow pullover hoodie and green plaid shorts, while Alex was wearing a green t-shirt over a pair of mid-thigh blue shorts. Everyone else, not counting Kyoya who was wearing a white Hawaiian shirt with flowers on it and a pair of shorts, was wearing swimtrunks.

She sighed, "Where was the exit again?"

Tamaki spoke from his spot on his chair, a iced lemonade in his hand, "Just try to make the most of it. We're so worried about our good looks day and night, we deserve a little vacation.

"Personally, I think this is pointless and a waste of time-so can I go home now?" Alex pouted and ran over, wrapping her arms around Haruhi's neck as she pleaded,

"But, Haruhi~! Don't leave me, my love! I can only handle so many of the Hosts-"

"You have Kyoya-Sempai to help you, and to be honest, I think he's more than willing." Haruhi retorted, voice and facial expression bored. Tears welled up in her eyes dramatically as she sulked in a corner, mushroom growing all around her.

Hikaru and Kaoru gasped, **"She stole the bosses technique, "The Fungi attack"!" **

Haruhi sweatdropped and Kyoya commented from his spot on his chair that was located near Tamaki's, "You seem to have forgotten that she mastered it a few months ago. It's not that difficult a technique."

"Well, yeah," Kaoru began with a "Duh" face. Hikaru finished,

"But where is all the fertilizer to make them grow coming from?" Almost at once, every perverted person in the room (A.K.A, the twins and Tamaki) looked at Kyoya with suspicious looks.

**"Kyoya-Sempai, what have you been up to with Alex?" **

"You dare defile my daughter-Kyoya, how could you-!?" It was left to Mori to hold the rampaging blonde back, "You're not even _married-" _

"What the hell are you _talking _about?" Alex demanded, face a bright red from the accusation, "What goes in those twisted minds of yours!? I'm still safe! Innocent! I haven't been touched, thank you very much!"

**"But, Kyoya-Sempai-" **

"I hope that for your sake, whatever is running through those minds of yours at this very second be tucked away and never shown again." Kyoya spoke, eyes hidden behind his glasses as a dark purple aura as black as midnight grew around him. "I have done no such thing."

Mitskuni nodded in agreement, "That's right! Lexi-Chan and Kyo-Chan wouldn't do something bad like that! That's a No-no!"

"Thank you, Honey!" Alex cried, dragging her down her face as she gestured to him with her other, "Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you people?"

Haruhi shrugged, "Who knows? Besides, where are we, anyway?"

Kyoya explained with a calm smile, his angry demeanor gone, "This place is a new theme-park that my family, The Ootori Group, runs. It's called "The Tropical Aqua Garden"." Alex nodded, moving over to sit next to her best friend.

"Yup!"

"Wait, I though the Ootori group ran _hospitals_," Haruhi said in confusion, look at Alex for confirmation. The brunette nodded, "I'm confused; aren't they focused on the medical area?"

"Yes," Kyoya replied, "But my family likes to diversify and try new things. Besides, this place _could _be classifed as a healing facility."

"Yeah! Like, when people are stressed or something and want to go on vacation but don't have the money or time, so they can come here and relax instead!"

Haruhi looked at the small girl in confusion, "How come you know all this?" Alex pointed her thumb at Kyoya, giving her her trademark grin,

"He told me in the limo!"

Haruhi tried to imagine them talking in a limo, but the image that popped up in her head was completely different. Alex and Kyoya were smirking devilishly in her mind and Alex was pressed up against Kyoya as she stood on her toes, a hand behind his head as he leaned down to the point where their noses were touching. In Alex's right hand was his glasses, while Kyoya's left was wrapped around her waist and pressing her to him, his right hand holding a wine glass. Alex was wearing a dark green cocktail dress and a pair of highheels with straps, while Kyoya was in a plain black tuxedo with a purple tie. Her hair was up in a bun with a few strands falling messily into her face, her eyes narrowed mischievously as her red lips were curled up into a grin. Kyoya was smirking seductively, and the two looked like a scheming couple in the night.

Haruhi sweatdropped at her thoughts, shaking her head. _Tamaki-Sempai and Alex must be rubbing off on me...Now **I'm **delusional. _

"Alex is right. The Ootori Groups has _always _been concerned for the wellbeing of the general public," Kyoya informed with a smile, pushing up his glasses. Clearly he was either lying or scheming, and Haruhi had a feeling she knew which one.

_Maybe not so delusional... _She thought as she watched Kyoya hand Alex her drink, Alex nearly jolting when Kyoya's fingers brushed against hers, _Does Alex...? _

"The park doesn't actually open 'till next month," Alex informed, taking a drink of her pink lemonade-she looked like a little kid doing so, "and Kyoya," Haruhi noted when her eyes shifted over to look at Kyoya, "He got us inside free."

"The Host Club was given a special advance invitation."

Tamaki's happy sigh interrupted their conversation, "This is so relaxing...the Host Club doesn't have to worry about keeping all of their guests entertained for once."

Alex frowned uncertainly, staring at the water with hesitation and envy. In all honesty, Alex wanted to go swimming, but with her scar-covered body...

The date-_Bad thoughts, bad thoughts!-_ran through her mind and she remembered all the people who made fun of her for her scars. Removing her hand from her left arm-she hadn't even realized was holding it-she raised her hand up to her face and gently traced the scar that ran along her jaw. Her scar was bad enough, but for everyone to see her _body_? Everyone who probably gag at the sight of her.

She sighed, and jolted at the feel of a hand on her shoulder. She whirled her head around to see Haruhi looking at her worriedly.

"Alex, are you okay? You look a little down..."

"U-Uh, yeah, I'm fine." She stuttered, surprised.

_"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...Stay brave for me?" _Alex tensed at the sound of Akari's voice echoing in her mind. The brunette shook her head.

"I'm fine, Haruhi, don't worry. Just a little messed up in the head, that's all!" She laughed and lightly knocked the side of her head to prove her point.

"If you want to go swimming, you can, you know." Alex looked at Haruhi in surprise, not expecting her to read her so easily, "I know you enough to tell what's wrong, Alex."

"I don't-I don't want to go swimming. I don't like swimming; why would I go swimming?" Alex demanded, voice sounding a little harsh. She flinched, "Sorry!"

"Your scars, right? No one cares about your scars, Alex." Alex felt like laughing at that. _Doesn't care? If no one cared, then why the hell do I keep getting made fun of!? _Alex wanted to scream. She wanted to pound her fists again a wall and break something. She was glad that Mitskuni ran over and interrupted their conversation,

"Haru-Chan! Lexi-Chan! Do you guys wanna share some coconut juice with me!? Or maybe you wanna try a piece of the mango cake!?" Alex shook her head apologetically, while Haruhi nodded her head as she cast a worried look towards Alex,

"Y-Yeah, sure...I'l have some coconut juice." Alex watched as Haruhi got dragged away, a frown on her pale face. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she leaned her side against the chair that Kyoya was sitting, thoughtful and sad.

Kyoya asked, everyone else out of hearing distance of their conversation which was now forming, "Are those girls words still affecting you?"

Alex jerked, sitting up right as her head turned, eyes wide. "What? What girls?"

"The ones from the ice cream parlor."

"No, what'd they say?" She faked a smile, eyes closed. She was good at faking smiles-she faked smiled so much back in her dimension, she became a master at it. When she smiled, nobody ever asked why she was smiling like that-they just thought it was genuine. "Nah, we all know-they're just jealous of my ninja skills!" She laughed loudly, only to have it die down as she opened her eyes and caught sight of the look on Kyoya's face. She spoke, voice lowering in tone, "Wh-What?"

Kyoya sighed, pushed up his glasses, and stood. She craned her neck to look up at him, leaning back slight as she watched him stand in front of her. He asked, "Are you wearing a swimsuit underneath that?"

Unwillingly, her face grew red at the question and she tried to answer as clear as she could, a strange look on her face, "Um, _yeah... _Why wouldn't I be wearing one? The maids practically forced it on me-after I got to choose. It was the only one I liked." She didn't like the fact that his eyes hid behind his glasses, and everyone turned their heads in alarm when Alex screamed.

"Let go of me! Put me down, put me do_oooowwwn!" _She squealed, pounding her fists on Kyoya's back. He had thrown her over his shoulder and was now currently walking towards the current pool, "Let me go, damn it, Kyoya! I'll shave your head when you sleep-_let me go!" _

"Not until you stop letting what other peoples words get to you."

"Theyd on't! I already told you that I'm not affected! Now let me go!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"Yes."

"No-damn it, Kyoya! If you don't let go I won't hug you anymore!"

"..."

"Let me go!"

**"Lovers quarrel~!" **Hikaru and Kaoru sang in amusement as they danced while holding each others hands.

"Shut up, gingers!"

**"Oi! Watch it, "Mrs. Ootori"!" **

"Do you wish too-no. _NO, no, no, no, no, no, NOOO! _Kyoya, I'm sorry, I love you, I'm sorry, you're the bestest friend either, please don't drop me!" He stopped at the edge of the current pool-the _deepest _part. The pool was 5'1 inches deep. A whole _inch _taller than her. "I love you! Please don't drop me!" She gripped tightly onto Kyoya's Hawaiin shirt, "You know you love me! Please don't-!" She screamed as he dropped her into the pool, her back slamming into the cold water.

Her mouth opened in a scream as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, slamming against the ground of the current pool. Kicking her feet against the ground, she swam desperately up to the surface for air.

Her head broke through and she inhaled, only to cough violently.

"What the hell!?" She demanded after a few moments, glaring at Kyoya's smirking face. Kyoya merely shrugged, not giving her the honor of a reply, and turned around and walked away. She could feel herself slowly being dragged down as her clothes grew wetter and wetter by the second. Growling to herself, she ducked herself underneath the water and pulled her shirt off, ducked her head above the surface and crumbled her shirt up into a ball. Kyoya still walking, she narrowed her eyes as she aimed, before reeling her arm and throwing the shirt at him.

It missed by two inches, hitting his shoulder instead of his head. She cursed to herself as she watched him stop and look down at his sopping wet arm. A twinge of fear running along her spine at the sight of the "Devil horns" growing on his head as he was enveloped in his purple aura, she squealed, "I didn't do it!" and ducked back under the water, swimming as far from the surface as she could.

It wasn't even five moments before Alex heard the shouting of, "Takashi!" By Mitskuni and she got splashed by water. Nearly coughing up a lung, Alex made a face as she got water up her nose. Rubbing her eyes, she blinked in surprise when she saw Mori smile at the small blonde. She then watched as Mitskuni called out to everyone to watch him as he sat on Mori's back, Mori swimming against the current-of course, as she got swept away by the current pool despite her attempts to swim against it. "Even though we're swimming really fast against the current, we're not going any farther than we are now!"

_I feel so ridiculous...Kyoya's gonna kill me when I get out of here. _Alex thought, only to pause when she realized she was just in a pair of minishorts and her shirt was off, leaving her in her rather revealing bikini top. _Actually, on second thought, I quite like this pool. _She squealed and ducked her head under the water, kicking and waving her arms and legs frantically as she tried to prevent herself from being washed away by the currents.

_Why'd he dump me in the current pool? Jerk. _

Hikaru had thought it would be funny to shoot water at face. Alex was about to bring her head up against and barely had time to breath in before the current got stronger all of a sudden and much, _much _faster than before. Water flew over her head, a giant wave growing bigger and bigger, and Alex couldn't even scream before she was enveloped, her head slamming against something as something wrapped around her wrist.

Her chest felt ready to explode, purple-just dark colors and light colors of purple flashing and blinding her vision. Her stomach was twisting and turning as water filled her lungs, unable to breathe-_burning _pain in her chest and throat. It felt like she was on a roller-coaster, opening her mouth but no noises coming out, her stomach churning so uncomfortably and violently. The grip tightened and she felt so dizzy, her head hurting like people taking rocks and pounding them furiously against her head in anger...

All she could register before she blacked out was that it felt like a hand, and that people were screaming her and Mitskuni's names, and the face that sometimes annoyed her but often brought her great comfort when it was most needed flashing across her mind.

* * *

"Though the cause of our present location seems to be the switch for the current pool," Kyoya explained, tapping his chin lightly with his pen as he looked at his little book, "I'll have to have a little chat with our designers." _Especially now that this happened... _Eyes hiding behind glasses, he flashed the Host Club a beaming smile, his face once again hiding behind that mask of his. "Thanks a lot, you guys! I got some _great _data today."

Mori seemed to be the only one who wasn't annoyed as the twins, Tamaki, and Haruhi demanded, **"You what!?" **Haruhi was pissed, being treated like a guinea pig, and she wanted nothing more than to slap the arrogant bastard across the face.

But she noticed. She noticed the change in Kyoya's attitude. It was more "hidden" and "kept-to-himself" than it was five minutes ago. He seemed to put on his "Host" persona without even realizing. Not then "Gentlemanly Host", no... but the "Shadow King" Host that he often used the first few weeks that Haruhi and Alex knew him. He still uses it sometimes, when he's scheming or something similar to that, but now...His facade seemed to increase.

Could he really be worried about Alex more than the rest of the Host Club thought?

Haruhi frowned to herself, narrowing her eyes suspiciously as she stared at Kyoya. He was still smiling at them, the sun glaring on his glasses and making him seem like a cruel bastard who'd do anything necessary to get what he wants.

It wasn't long before Kyoya took out a map, a pointer stick, and his book as he explained, "-we need to get here. I have feeling that this is where Alex and Honey-Sempai have probably ended up." He pointed at the other edge of the map, far away from their current location. _Damn it all... If she's hurt- _Kyoya quickly cut his thoughts off, not wanting to let him emotions get the better of him. Every time that happens, he snapped. At Alex. He yelled at her, multiple times, and admitted that he worried about her. He kept his feelings locked away, not letting the world see-but when his emotions get the better of him, he snaps and blurts out his feelings harshly. That's just how he was.

"It might be tough to get there because we'll have to get through this jungle area on the Southern Block. Distance wise," Kyoya continued, gesturing with the stick, "We're talking about eight hundred meters."

Haruhi glanced up at Kyoya with worried eyes, her eyebrows furrowing, "It looks like there are a lot of undeveloped areas. Is it really going to be that easy to find Honey-Sempai and Alex?"

His eyes flashed again and his grip on the stick seemed to tighten ever-so-slight, the only people noticing were Haruhi and Tamaki. "We'll get them back."

"Then..." She paused at his answer, thinking her question through, before asking, "any idea on what might be lurking in those parts of the jungle?"

His eyes hid behind his glasses again , his face and posture completely stoic, "Since they're still being developed, I'm afraid I don't know."

Haruhi had a feeling she was just making the situation worse, so she stopped. Hikaru and Kaoru weren't helping the situation at all, commenting,

"Whatever's out there could be even _more _dangerous,"

"-then alligators!" Tamaki grew even more determined, clenching his fists as he ground his teeth together,

"Alright! Then this is a mission of _survival!" _Kyoya resorted to writing what was happening in his little black book, listening to Tamaki rant, "I know we can make it through the treacherous jungle in one piece! It is our sworn duty to save both Honey-Sempai and Alex!"

* * *

Light flared in her vision ever so brightly, burning her eyes and stinging her lungs. She felt like she was on fire-she was completely unable to process what was going on. Her mind was blank, completely and utterly dazed and lightheaded, her body totally numb and useless. She barely made out noises in the distance, merely coughing ferociously as she tried to rid herself what was stuck in her system, in her lungs, in her mouth, in her stomach...inside _her_.

Her throat burned, worse than that burn you get after throwing up in the toilet from when you ate too much, and it felt like it was _boiling_, her chest aching so badly that it felt like someone had taken heart and _squeezed_, trying to stop it with their hand.

The noises grew louder, something pressing against her chest frantically as noises continued to scream like a siren. The liquid bubbled up from her lungs and onto her skin, collapsing against the rough surface she was laying on.

"-an!" She blinked blearily, vision completely unfocused. Coughing violently, body practically lifting in the air before slamming back against the ground in exhaustion, she was unable to move. Purple spots danced in her vision, and she barely noticed a pair of amber eyes staring worriedly down at her. "-x-Xhan! Lexi-Chan! Alex? Come on, wake up!" She felt the pressing against her chest again, "Say something!"

Her lips moved to speak, but no words came out. After a few moments, despite the soreness and burning of her throat, she rasped, "M-Mitsukuni?"

Tears welled up in the older boy's eyes, his cheeks a bright red from when he was crying earlier. He had thought she was dead; that he had been unable to save her. "L-Lexi-Chan?"

"H-Hi..." She flinched and leaned her head back, body completely and utterly sore. Closing her eyes, she could feel the tears forming in her own, her heart pumping fast and erratically, frantic at the course of events that had just happened. It took a few moments, but she remembered.

She was in the current pool, the twins and Tamaki were playing with water guns, and she and Mitsukuni were engulfed in the wave...That meant he was the one who grabbed onto her.

His arm were wrapped tight, but gently, around her, his face nuzzling the crook of her neck as he cried, "I thought you were _dead! _You-You drowned and I-I thought I failed too save you and-and-don't do that again, Lexi-Chan! Okay!? No-No more swimming! I-I won't let you!"

Gasping, she exclaimed, "M-Mitsu-Can't-Can't-" Inhaling sharply, she went into another barrage of coughs, Mitsukuni pulling and staring with red and worried eyes at the girl. He didn't want her to die. Her nails dug into the dirt beneath her, clawing harshly into the ground as she gasped desperately for air to enter her lungs. Somehow, she ended up rolling onto her left sight as she continued to hack up water, a little bit of blood a long with it.

At the sight of the liquid, Mitsukuni knew that they had to find the others and soon. Alex needed a doctor.

* * *

After listening to the story of how Mitsukuni and Mori began cousins, Haruhi walked over and gently placed a hand on his arm, causing him to look at her curiously with a blank look on his face.

"Hey, Mori-Sempai, it's gonna be alright," She told him, causing him to blink his onyx eyes at her. "I'm sure that Honey-Sempai is safe, and he's got Alex with him so you shouldn't be too worried. They're both a lot tougher than you think they are, and if either of them get hungry, the trees are full of bananas."

**"Bananas?" **Hikaru and Kaoru questioned, stress lines forming on their faces. Tamaki had to idea what else to say, merely muttering in shock,

"What's he going to say?"

There was a small silence.

Haruhi looked up in surprise when Mori raised his hand and rested it against her head, smiling at her, "You're right." Was all he said. Tamaki quickly screamed, pressing his hands against his face as a blue depressed aura surrounded him,

"Don't tell me he's after my spot as Haruhi's daddy!?"

"Nobody wants that spot but you boss," Hikaru deadpanned, informing the blonde.

Kaoru nodded in agreement, commenting with dull eyes, "It's kinda creepy when you think about it."

Kyoya ignored them, dialing the Ootori Police Onion Squad on his cell, "Hello? It's me. Well, we've had an incident that's caused some _trouble_." He quickly informed them to start searching for a young boy and girl. The started to stop, "Yes...At once, please." Turning his phone off, he turned to face the trouble makers, "My family's private police force sent in a search and rescue team to help us. They're better equipped to find Alex and Honey-Sempai than we are. So, let's just go back to the gate and wait there." Kyoya stopped talking, looking around in confusion.

"SHUT UP BEFORE I HIT YOU IN THE FACE AGAIN!" Tamaki snapped, screaming.

Kyoya spoke, asking the question that stopped all fighting at once, "Hey, where are Mori and Haruhi?"

"Wh-What?" Tamaki asked in fear. They all quickly got ready and started to head out towards their original goal, Kyoya pausing and looking back at the hut that they were waiting in during the squall.

"You know...I don't I mentioned that there were other visitors here?" He mumbled to himself, frowning. He thought better of it and shrugged, turning around and walking again, "Huh, oh well." He gave them a complete inadequate explanation.

* * *

"This way, Lexi-Chan, I think I hear some people!" Mitsukuni gently urged to weak brunette, who was pale and slight blue in the face, still coughing up blood every now and then. "Come on, not that much farther..." Alex trailed behind slowly, her vision blurry out every now and then as she coughed. "Ah-! Haru-Chan!" Mitsukuni exclaimed, before gripping the pale girl's hand and gently pulling her forward, "This way!"

It took a few moments before they got within hearing distance, "Is that-?"

"Wait here, Lexi-Chan! Come on out once I take care of them, kay?" Merely nodding, the girl watched as Mitsukuni ran and climbed up a treet, swinging on a vine in a very similar fashion to _Tarzan _as he shouted. He released the vine and flipped, feet landing on an Officer's face. Raising a hand up to her mouth, she coughed harshly, shivering as a breeze blew by.

That's right...she forgot she no longer had her shirt. She had thrown it at Kyoya in a fit of childish irritation. She really was a little kid, wasn't she? It's a wonder...why...She swerved slightly, collapsing against a tree as her vision blurred, head incredibly light-feeling. Her body was sore and numb, bruises and dirt littering her body. She completely missed Mitsukuni's great feat of defeating the guards, coughing harshly as she collapsed to her knees. She bent over, hands raised over her mouth as she hacked up whatever was in her system, liquid the color of red splattering against her cold skin, sickeningly warm and wet.

She had nearly died...she was probably dying right now, without the proper medical treatment. She was a sick little thing, wasn't she? _I make myself sick, _She thought to herself, disgusted at how easily she was falling to the monsters of this dimension.

Warmth suddenly wrapped around her body, strong arms wrapping around her and lifting her into the air. She wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for the comforting warmth that came, engulfing her to the point of peaceful suffocation. Curling up against the thing, _person_, that projected such warmth, she coughed into her hand against, breathing heavily as she rested her head against the person's shoulder.

This hold was familiar...She recognized it, and welcomed the feeling that came with it. It made her feel safe, protected..._loved_. What person did she know that always managed to make her feel like that?

"Damn _moron_..." She heard a voice mutter from under their breath.

_Kyoya..._A small smile fluttered across her lips at the thought as she relaxed into the hold, snugging even deeper into the warmth as the tears grew in her eyes, despite the fact that they were closed. _I'm sorry... I'm always... _

_"Sorry...for being a moron..." _She hadn't even realized she whispered it aloud softly, throat sore and screaming at her for speaking, her voice raspy.

"Alex!"

"Alex-what happened!?"

"ALEX!"

"Oh, my god!"

"This...this is the teen girl we were looking for?" Eyes hiding behind his glasses, he ordered one of the hosts to quickly call an ambulance. Tamaki was already on the phone before he could even finish.

* * *

**April 12, 2014**

"Hikaru, get your own hospital food. I'm starving."

"You can eat all you want when you get back to the mansion! We waste our time worrying about you, you know! Always getting into trouble like this...No matter what, you always end up in the god damn _hospital_!"

"Practically every other week. Sprained ankle, twisted wrist," Kaoru started to list off all the injuries she had, and it was a _long _list, "and now drowning." A frown adorned his face, and Alex then took the time to notice that he had freckles splashed across his nose-as did his brother. Worry shone clearly in the boy's eyes, fingers grasping the hospital blanket as hands clutched it tightly, "Just how many more injuries are you gonna get!? You're starting to scare us, Alex! Honey-Sempai said that you almost died, and for a second he thought you had!"

"Quit getting yourself injured all the time!"

"I can't help it!" Alex snapped, glaring at them. The tears started to prick her eyes as she shook her head, voice cracking, "I just _can't_. I can't control these things. I didn't know the current pool was going to act up like that, I didn't know that I was going to drown, I didn't know that I was going to scare anyone, I didn't _know._" That was when it hit her.

She didn't _know_. She should've known. But she didn't. Why didn't she _know_? Had she forgotten the entire plot?

She knew Tamaki and Haruhi ends up together, she knows when, too...She also knows how Tamaki's relationship with his Grandmother turns out as well, and how the twins go their separate ways...

Well, she _did _just have a small traumatic experience...Actually, she never really was a big fan of that chapter/episode anyway. She remembered the Sun, Sea, and Host Club one perfectly well though, er, for the most part.

They go to the beach, girls nearly get raped and Haruhi saves them, gets thrown in sea and nearly drowns, Tamaki saves her, Kyoya nearly rapes Haruhi to prove a point, she escapes, thunderstorm and Tamaki comforts Haruhi and...Yeah, that's 'bout it. All she remembers of the next episode/chapter.

Asking curiously, changing the subject, "Whats the plan for next time? Where we goin' next week?"

Staring at her oddly, the brothers questioned, **"What plan?" **

"You know...We pretty much go somewhere everyother week."

They still looked confused and Alex felt horror dawning on her.

"D-Didn't Tamaki suggest something?"

"No," Hikaru replied with a slight irritated look, "Everyone was too worried about you to think straight!"

Alex was slight taken aback, "W-Worried?" Why where they worried about _her_? She figured they just said that, as before, to make her feel happy-but Hikaru sounded _ticked_.

"Of course," Kaoru replied, a small frown on his face. The two locked eyes and Alex found herself frozen, "Everyone cares about you, Alex. We don't like it when something like this happens to you."

Biting her lip, the girl couldn't hold it in. The tears formed and streamed down her face as her shoulders shook, a small cough escaping her lips as she squeezed her eyes shut.

**"Alex-" **

"Why? _Why-why? Why _are you all always so _nice _to me!?" She didn't understand it. She truly didn't. People hated her, always have. She was constantly bullied back in her world at the school, and always made her sarcastic jibes back, but here...Here everyone was being nice and treating her kindly and was caring for her and was-was _worried _about her.

Hikaru and Kaoru stared at her shocked, caramel eyes wide as saucers. Of all things, they didn't expect this to come out of her mouth.

"You-You-I'm hideous, but you seem to care, I'm a jerk but you don't care, I get made fun of for my scars or bullied you come and help, and-and when-and when I-when something like _this _happens you all-" She swallowed the lump in her throat, her voice cracking as she stared at them with red teary eyes, "you all..."

Arms embraced her, seeming not to care that she was still in the hospital bed, and held her tight and close, waves so gentle radiating off of them. Her eyes grew, blinking her brown eyes in shock the tears fell and streamed down her cheeks.

"You're a damn idiot..."

"Of course we care..."

"How could we not?"

"You may not look it, but you are a _Hitachiin." _

**_"Our sister."_**

Squeezing her eyes shut again, she allowed the tears to fall as she trembled, biting her lip as she raised her arms and hugged the brothers back. This was probably the first time in her life that she truly felt like she had a family.

Sure, she had her brother and sisters, her divorced parents and step-parents...But here, she felt loved and cared for...a part of it. A part of this _place_, this world, this _dimension_.

Alexandria had probably never felt more at home in her life than now, with these two irritating, cocky, self-important, misunderstood, ginger-haired, golden-eyed, twisted pair of twins that had hit her with their limo.

She came to realize that he was right. He was _always _right; He always knew what to say.

Alexandria Connors was given a second chance at life, and she should take it and use it wisely, cherish it, and never let herself go with regrets.

"It's okay, Alex..."

"It's alright..."

"Don't fake a smile."

"Kaoru's right...We...We love you, as our sister, so be yourself...Stop hiding and being insecure."

Alex tried to hold back a sob, apologizing repeatedly and repeatedly, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, forgive me, I'm sorry..."

She trips and falls, hides her pain and tears from those outside...always getting up and smiling and goofing off...

Was that truly how she should be? She didn't know. It was just how she was.

**This is what happens after getting writers block and listening to [Vocaloid] Pierrot (Ashe). XD I am SO sorry. I know, extremely late, please don't kill me. I hope this makes up for it, though I'm aware the ending was a bit of fail. Sorry! READ AND REVIEW my pretties... :) Kyoya and the twins will give you a hug...And Haruhi and Alex if you want, even Renge. **


	18. The Sun, the Sea, and the Host Club

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. **

**Theme song? _I'm Alive _by Becca. I don't own any anime or their characters. I only own Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler references...and others. **

**Oh! I have officially decided the Alex's voice is Mai from the anime "Ghost Hunt". English dubbed, of course.**

**After watching multiple anime scenes, I am tempted to throw in a Yandere somewhere...mainly chasing after Alex...I don't know! XD It would be so weird, but hilarious, but sad, but glorious at the same time! Ah...I'm a terrible person. Then again, I'm practically a Tsundere to all my friends, except Emily to whom I'm a Tsunshun, so technically I AM a jerk...Haha. XD I watch too much anime and read too much manga...**

**What kind of "Anime cliche" do you guys thing Alex is? Yandere, (Obviously, not..I hope XD) Tsundere, Kuudere, Coodere, Tsunshun, Deredere, Dandere, what? Honestly, I kinda think of her as a "Lolita" for some reason with a little bit of "Tsun" in her. **

**DISCLAIMER! I DO NOT OWN OURAN HIGHSCHOOL HOST CLUB, CAUSE IF I DID, ALEX AND MY OTHER OC ISAMI FUJIOKA WOULD BE IN IT. HARUHI AND TAMAKI WOULD KISS IN THE ANIME AND...STUFF. I ALSO DO NOT OWN ANY REFERENCES I MAKE IN THIS TO OTHER ANIMES AND MANGAS AND BOOKS. I AM NINJA BUT NOT THAT NINJA.**

**I'm seriously starting to debate whether to make this M rated or not, due to all the "Grim" scenes I'm writing. O.o Should I even be writing this kind of stuff at my age? XD People might start to wonder what kind of environment I grew up in or something!**

****May 2, 2014****

"Are you sure you're alright, Alex?" Haruhi questioned the brunette worriedly, frowning. The girl nodded and smiled at Haruhi, waving her off.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just some water." Haruhi didn't fall for it. The girl had practically _drowned _three weeks ago and here she was, at the beach like nearly dying didn't affect her. Not to mention that _she _was the one who suggested it. Tamaki had agreed to it almost instantly, while Kyoya, the twins, Mitsukuni and herself took a little more convincing. "I can swim." She leaned back against the towel on the sand and grinned, giving a peace sign.

"Then why are you wearing a T-Shirt over your swim suit?" Alex hesitated, remembering that she _was _indeed wearing a black T-Shirt with a _Pirated of the Caribbean _design on it over top of her fuchsia swim suit. It was a magenta-looking fuchsia, with colors like purple and blue splashed and blurred onto it to give it color.

"I'm fine, Haruhi! Really!" Alex tried to convince her and opened her mouth to continue to say something, but was interrupted by a small cough. Shaking her head in slight irritation, she cleared her throat and said, "Honestly, it was just a small bump on the head. Even my bruises are gone! See!" She held out her pale arm for Haruhi to see, "Nothing there!"

"But still...it isn't normal for a person to suggest to go to a place with big bodies of water after drowning..." Alex grinned madly at that, brown eyes flashing mischievously as she leaned towards the brunette "male".

"You tend to find that I'm not _normal_, Haruhi."

_"Don't fake a smile."_

_"You may not look it, but you are a _**Hitachiin.**"__ The memory ran in her head like a broken recorder, nearly impossible to get her mind to wrap around it. They...really _accepted _her, didn't they? They _cared_.

* * *

**April 29, 2014**

"The beach?" Haruhi asked in confusion, staring up at the brunette in shock. Alex wanted to go to the _beach_? After what just happened to her? "Are you feeling okay?"

Alex nodded enthusiastically, putting on her best act in order to get things flowing in the right order again, "Yeah! You know, the beach! Like, the Caribbean, or Fiji! Hikaru and Kaoru have vacation homes in both locations, so it shouldn't matter too much!"

"So that's," Hikaru began in realization as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Why you made us bring all out mother's latest swimsuit designs with us." Kaoru finished, arms crossed. Alex nodded enthusiastically, running over to the large line of swimsuits.

"Yeah! And, after careful consideration," She was just bull-shitting herself at this point by stealing the twins' lines; what she remembered of them anyway, "I decided that you should wear this pink bikini!" She gestured to it awkwardly, "You know...the ruffles? Yeah! It would look cute on you!"

Hikaru added after observing it for a few moments, "It _would _hide the fact that she had no figure..."

"Yeah," Kaoru agreed, "a one-piece suit would reveal how much she is lacking and activating the tear-glands of the readers!"

Haruhi looked down at her Ouran sweater and tugged a little at the chest area, muttering to herself, "I wear it because it's comfortable..." She was truly a pitiful A-Cup. Alex quickly moved over and patted Haruhi on the shoulder awkwardly in an attempt to be comforting.

"There, there...You're still beautiful, Haruhi." Haruhi blinked and stared at Alex with her big dark brown doe eyes. It was funny, in a way, at how much similarities Alex and Haruhi had in appearance. They both were short, had brown hair and brown doe eyes-albeit they're of different shades-and both didn't seem to care much about appearances. However, despite the similarities, there _were _the differences.

Both were generally lazy, but Alex was more active than Haruhi and Haruhi was smarter in more areas than Alex. Haruhi got along with everybody, while Alex had slight troubles with socializing. Haruhi wasn't aware of feelings like "love" or "like", while Alex understood them perfectly. Alex was the closest thing to a "Shadow Queen", as the twins would put it, and had Kyoya as a best friend. If anything, Tamaki was the closest thing Haruhi had to a guy best friend-not counting the devilish twins, of course. The twins were Alex's family, as she had none.

But the two girls were close-even if it didn't look like it most of the time.

**"But, even so..." **The twins began, moving over to Alex and pulling her away from Haruhi, **"No beach." **

The brunette's eyes widened in shock, and hidden horror, "What!? _Why!?" _

**"You nearly drowned a chapter ago! We're not letting you go near any large bodies of water for a long time!" **

"But I'm _fine!_"

"I agree," Kyoya spoke, writing something in his little black book as he was sitting in his usual chair on the left side of the couch, taking a drink of his black coffee, "I'm not too comfortable with letting you nearly _drown _again." _Especially since I was the one who put you in that current pool... _His glasses covered his eyes and his lips tilted downwards in a drown. "I don't want to have to deal with all the paperwork and charges that will be pressed onto the Host Club if one of our members die because of a silly trip."

Haruhi sweatdropped, watching as stress lines formed on Alex's face. _That was cold...even for him. Why is he hiding his worry again? _Haruhi was observant, and despite her own obliviousness to her own feelings, she could tell Kyoya and Alex cared a lot about each other. He just didn't understand why they tried to hide their feelings.

Alex had anime tears streaming down her face comically as she whined, "But, _Kyoya~! _I'll be _fine_! Besides, if I die, then you guys won't have to put up with my annoying-ness anymore! You should be happy about that!" She didn't really mean what she was saying, but she was taken aback by the dark look he gave her after her sentence.

"_Don't joke about that." _He muttered darkly. His was glaring at her from over his coffee mug, legs still crossed from his spot in the chair. Feeling a chill run down her spine, the girl swallowed before raising her arm up as she coughed into her sleeve, a small look of pain forming on her features before she attempted to hide it away.

"I agree, Lexi-Chan," Mitsukuni spoke, clutching his Usa-Chan tightly to his chest as he looked up at the girl with worried and sad eyes, "I don't think you should joke about that kind of thing. You really scared us, y'know? After you fell unconscious when Kyo-Chan picked you up, we all thought you weren't going to make it..._again_."

"Yeah." Mori said with his usual blank face and deep voice. "No Beach."

Alex started to feel her heart drop into her stomach, realizing that she just started to screw up the entire plot. The show was supposed to be about _Haruhi_, not convincing _Alex _not to go drown. She was trying to get things back on track, but her incident-prone nature was starting to make that impossible.

Luckily, Tamaki walked in the club room at the perfect moment, for he asked excitedly, "Beach? Did someone say beach!?"

Haruhi spoke, eyes drifting over to the curious and excited blonde, "Alex is trying to convince everyone to go on a trip to the beach."

"I think it's a _great _idea!" Tamaki agreed almost instantly, holding up an index finger as he marched over to Alex and placed a hand on the brunette's shoulder. The girl nodded frantically, realizing that if Tamaki was willing to go along with it, that the rest of the Host Club would have to agree eventually.

"Yeah, see! _"Daddy"_ likes it!" She added emphasis on the "Daddy" to boost her chances of getting everyone to going on a trip to the beach.

Judging by the way everyone was looking at her, they knew it too.

**"We said, "No", Alex!" **The twins argued, frowning deeply at her as they crossed their arms, **"We're not having you nearly drown again!" **

"I'm not going to drown again! That was a one time thing, guys!"

Haruhi cut in, trying to stop any further arguments, "Can we please not argue?" She paused, not really wanting to take Alex's side in this argement, but having to add, "I don't want her to drown either, but what happened with the current pool at Kyoya-Sempai's family resort _was _an accident. The beach _should _be safer. So long as she stay near the shore-"

"Haru-Chan's right..." Mitsukuni added reluctantly, realizing that what the brunette said was true. Alex's heart flew back up into her chest, a grin forming on her face.

"Yeah! See! Tamaki, Haruhi, and Mitsukuni agree with me!"

**"We're still saying "no"!" **

"...You guys will get to see Haruhi in a swimsuit?" Alex tried to persuade, only getting a sour look from the only other female in the room.

"Don't use me as bait."

**"Still, "No"!" **

Alex feel to her knees, tears streaming down her face again as she cried comically, "_Guys! Please~!?" _She started talking at a rapid pace, but slow enough that they were all able to understand, "I know you don't really want me to go swimming again because you think I'll drown and die, but I won't, promise, I swear I won't! It was an accident last time and the resort was still under construction so really, anything could've happened to not only me, but you guys as well and-and, Haruhi really likes beaches and we haven't really done something for her that she enjoyed yet other than the Christmas Party, not counting the fact that she got her first kiss stolen, but hey, so did I so that doesn't really count, but _still~! _Please!" She literally leaned over and placed her hands against the ground in the "Begging" position, "_Pleeeeeease! _I'm sorry, I really am, I promise it won't happen again!"

Tamaki looked up at Haruhi in shock, "Haruhi...is that true? Do you really like the beaches?"

"Wait," Hikaru began in confusion, "I though you said you weren't into stuff like that?"

Haruhi shrugged from her spot at her desk where she was supposed to be studying, "It's true that I'm not a big fan of water parks and stuff like that, but I do enjoy the beaches."

Kyoya sighed and tapped his pencil against his clipboard, placing his coffee mug down on the table in front of him, "You really won't stop unless we agree, will you?"

Alex looked up at the dark haired man, hope shining in her eyes as she sat up on the ground.

"You're such a damn moron...but, if Tamaki agrees with it, I don't see why I should be so adamant on refusing." He barely had time to register the fact that Alex had stood and started to run in his direction before she tackled him in a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck as she sat on his lap,

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you," She kissed his right cheek, not fully realizing what she had done before she hugged him again, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you-!" She paused, realizing what she had just done, and pulled back quickly with a bright red face as she stared at the man in front of her, whose cheeks were coated lightly with a pale pink. She jumped off his lap, stumbling backwards and shouting when her leg hit the table that was in front of the chair he was sitting at and screamed when collapsed on her back on the ground, groaning his pain.

"That...tickled," She grunted, a bruise forming on her left calf from where she scraped it, a bit of blood poking out of her skin.

"Mommy, Mommy, Alex hurt herself again!" Tamaki cried, running over and clinging to Kyoya as he pointed childishly at the wounded brunette. Kyoya sighed, trying to ignore the feeling on his cheek he received when Alex had kissed him in the spur-of-the-moment and asked no one as he pulled out a bandaid and some ointment out of his jacket pocket,

"Is it my fate to be saddled with four kids at only seventeen? What's happening to my youth?" Alex continued to complain about Kyoya putting ointment on her scrape even though she said it was fine.

* * *

****May 2, 2014 ****

After watching Tamaki and the twins do their "Host" acts for the female guests, Haruhi groaned and leaned over, resting her head against Alex's shoulder.

"Ugh..._Why?_" Haruhi, despite being reluctant on the idea on the first place, just wanted a normal day at the beach. Alex felt her eyes trail over to Kyoya, who was holding up a clip board as he kept track of each girl's time with Tamaki and made sure no one cut in line.

"You're alone time with Tamaki is up. Next lady, please proceed."

"This _sucks_," Haruhi commented dryly, Alex awkwardly wrapping an arm around the other female's shoulders as she patted her in an attempt to be comforting, "I thought going to the beach would mean a day off."

"Dere, dere, Haruhi...Dere, Dere." She refused to remove her gaze from Kyoya though, her eyes not wanting to miss a single second. She was forced to remove her gaze however when Haruhi stated bluntly,

"You're staring at Kyoya-Sempai again, Alex."

Red covered Alex's cheeks as she exclaimed, "Wh-What? No, I'm not!" Haruhi's dark eyes bored into her lighter ones for a moment before she sighed and sat up, staring strangely at the weird dance moves Mori, Misukuni, and several female and male guests were doing.

"Um, Haruhi, Alex," A female voice interrupted, and Alex briefly registered it as Kurakano's, "aren't you two going to go swimming with us?"

Haruhi removed herself from Alex completely and Alex did the same with Haruhi, the taller brunette saying, "Ah, no, I like looking at the sea from a safer distance."

Alex blinked at the girl with the black hair, recognizing her but not able to name her, before it hit her, "Akiko! What'd you do to your hair; it looks different?"

The Toph-fan blushed in embarrassment and raised a hand to her hair, which he was allowed her bangs to fall over her forehead nearly and tied it up in a pony tail with a blue ribbon, "Ah, well, I...I wanted to try something different today. Does it look weird?" Akiko was wearing a blue bikini with a skirt, the top crossing around the back and wrapping around her neck.

Alex shook her head, grinning and giving the girl's a thumbs up, "Nope! Looks great!" Her blush darkened.

"Ah, thank you...Do-Do you think Nagihiko-kun would like it?"

_Nagihiko...Oh! The weird metaphor dude! _"Oh, yeah! Go for it! You two would look absolutely _adorable _together!"

"Ah...You-You thinks so?" Akiko seemed to have a split-personality of some sort. On some days, she could be positively outgoing and daring, while others she was shy just like the day she met her and today. "Well, if you two aren't going to swim, would you mind if we sat here with you?"

Haruhi looked at them with a charming confused smile, "But why? You girls should go swim-you got cute swimsuits on. Why not show them off?"

"Yeah! Go show Nagihiko a girl worth fighting for!" Alex cheered Akiko on, who blushed intensely at both her and Haruhi's comments. _I totally did not just make a **Mulan **reference...Hehe._

"O-Okay..." Rina stuttered, her tan face coated in a blush.

As the three girls walked away, Alex accidentally tuned in onto the twins and Kyoya conversation.

"I know," Kaoru groaned, "But with the ladies all here, Haruhi can't change into her swimsuit!"

Hikaru seemed to look like he realized something and Alex froze when he turned to look at her, "Speaking of which...Alex, why the hell are you wearing that T-shirt?" He called over, causing the girl to look away nervously. "You're wearing your swim suit, aren't you?"

"N-No..."

Kaoru grinned, "Liar." He and his brother started to walk over to her and Haruhi, "I made _sure _that the maids put you in one, the same one you wore at the resort last chapter, too."

"So, hurry up and take it off!" Hikaru finished, a devilish smirk on his face.

Alex's face paled as she stumbled, crawling backwards to hide behind Haruhi, "N-No-get off! _Noooo!" _She screamed bloody murder and everyone stopped what they were doing to stare. A few gained nosebleeds, a few fainted, a few glared, and, let's be honest here, a few girls squealed while a couple of guys cursed in jealousy. "No! Stop it!" She screamed and grabbed what she could of her shirt to tug it down to make sure the twins couldn't rip it off of her, "No!" She kicked her legs at the twins, her bare foot hitting Kaoru in the stomach and making him groan in pain, only to gave him quickly reach out and wrap his hand around her ankle, tickling her foot and making her grip on the shirt release instantly as she went into a bout of full-blown, uncontrollable, laughter.

She screamed for help and Tamaki heard, for he had hit the twins with an umbrella he found sticking out of the ground screaming, "_STOP SEXUALLY HARASSING MY DAUGHTER~!" _Thank you for his pure soul. Tamaki went into tears again, running to Kyoya as he pointed at the pile of twins, "_Mommy! _Hikaru and Kaoru are doing nasty things to their sister again! No dinner for them, tonight!"

Kyoya sighed again, "Why must you always insist on referring to me as your wife?" Alex burst out laughing, pointing at him obnoxiously before realizing that she had nothing to cover her top and scars, left in her two-piece swim suit. Her face grew dark red as horror dawned on it, quickly wrapping her arms around her chest to cover herself as best as she could.

She was ugly after all. Who would want to see the body of a girl covered in nothing but scars? She was practically damaged goods, after all. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tensed and curled herself up into a ball when someone placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

_"Dude, what happened to her arm?" _

_"What happened to her **shoulder**?" _

_"All those scars..." _The whispers wouldn't stop. Alex tried to tune them out, but they kept reaching her ears and entering her mind and _engraving _themselves into her memory. She just wanted it to stop. She was _ugly_. She tried to hide it. She tried to hide how she felt, but it was getting harder and harder each day and this-this was just utter _embarrassment _and _humiliation_.

She was subjected to this and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. She brought them here to the beach, and now they were getting back at her for it.

"Alex..." She didn't recognize the voice, so it was a girl she didn't know who had touched her shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"Quit being a baby and stand already," Akira, Alex realized, growled at the girl. "What happened to the annoying twat that managed to forgive those who hurt her, huh? Go back to that crazy chick."

"Talk about _badass!_" A boy declared, Shino, Alex thinks. The girl lifted her head up in confusion, eyes hidden behind her long bangs which now stopped just below her nose. Her eyes stung with held back tears, unable to understand why people were saying such things.

"I'd prefer it if she was all beat up, but you gotta admit...looks pretty cool."

Haruhi leaned over and whispered to Alex so that only she could hear, "See...I told you no one cared."

Suddenly, a dark aura enveloped Alex and everybody surrounding her backed up in fear, not counting Haruhi. She stood, very slowly removing her arms from her chest as she turned around to give the twins her _darkest _glare.

They shivered, sweat beading down their bodies as stress lines formed on their faces, trembling from complete and utter terror as they held onto each other as the girl neared them.

"_Hikaru...Kaoru..." _She began, voice deepening to the point where it sounded like she was about to commit murder.

The twins screamed as she whacked them multiple times upside their heads, angered. Their screams only increased when Nekozawa appeared behind them and asked in his (Sexy) creepy deep voice, "Everyone having _fun? Bwahahaha..._" Tamaki let out a scream of complete and unadulterated terror at the sight of the black-clad male.

Hikaru and Kaoru screamed, clutching each other in hopes that they would spared before both Alex and Nekozawa team up and kill them, **"WHY DID IT HAVE TO NEKOZAWA-SEMPAI'S PRIVATE BEACH!?" **

Tamaki let out a squeal, glaring at Kyoya, "Kyoya, I told you I wanted to go to _your _private beach!"

"But Alex and Haruhi wanted to go somewhere close by domestically and Haruhi doesn't have a passport," He informed calmly. Everyone watched as Nekozawa creepily took out an umbrella with drapes hanging from it and held it above him, sticking Beelzenef out in the sunlight.

"Come here, Beelzenef, you should get a tan." He laughed. He then turned to look at the giant cat rock up on the cliff and explained, "The cat rock is where each generation of the Nekozawa family place their offerings to worship our family's guardian deity. There's a legend that says if you jump off into the sea from there, you will never resurface."

Alex spoke, grinning, "Sweet." Nekozawa turned her, a smile on Beelzenef's face from the fact that someone liked his horror stories. Tamaki had tears in his eyes, while Hikaru and Kaoru deadpanned,

**"Oh, pretty awesome. Great. How cool." **Their voices were _drooling _with sarcasm.

Nekozawa looked up at the cat cliff-face in surprise, a smirk clear in his voice, "Would you look at that? Looks like we got a brave new _challenger_."

Everyone looked up at the cliff, and Tamaki, the twins, and Alex all screamed in horror at the sight of Haruhi leaning over the edge of the cliff, _**"HARUHIIIII!"**_They all screamed, running to the cliff as fast as their legs would take them-Alex trailing behind because of her short legs.

When they arrived, the twins and Tamaki had quickly tackled Haruhi away from the edge into the middle of the cave floor, panting. Alex finally ran up, leaning over as she rested her hands on her knees from exhaustion, "God..damn it...can't-can't breathe!" She huffed and collapsed onto her butt, exhausted.

"A-Almost lost Haruhi...my precious daughter..."

"Damn it," Hikaru cursed, trying to catch his breath from his spot on the cold floor.

Kaoru muttered, breathing heavily, "Didn't even realize what I was doing..." Tamaki tried to calm himself, gripping onto a skull when he collapsed. Wait...

He lifted his gaze up and locked his cerulean blue eyes onto the skull, only to let out an ear-splitting scream. Standing, he threw the skull up into the air in complete and utter fear as he screamed as loud as his lungs would let him as he nearly backed up into a blood sword-in-the-stone.

Nekozawa's laughter echoed in the cave as he explained, causing Alex to look at him with wide eyes, "I tried to create a more..._artistic _atmosphere for everybody's enjoyment. It would be an honor if it's to your liking..."

Now that everyone looked around the cave, it looked something like it was out of a horror movie. Alex grinned ear-to-ear, letting out a laugh, "Totally! This is epic!"

Everyone but Alex sweatdropped, and Tamaki just screamed in horror. Nekozawa moved up to Alex and with a creepy smile, he made movements with his puppet, saying, "Beelzenef says, "Thank you"."

She grinned at him, "Tell Beelzenef I say, "You're Welcome"." Alex let out a shout when she was suddenly pulled back by Tamaki, who cried,

"Don't _talk _to him! You'll get _cursed_!"

"No, I won't!" Nekozawa turned his attention to said blonde, stars flashing in his eyes.

"And ever since I could remember, I've always wanted to establish a closer friendship with Tamaki..." Beelzenef rubbed his hands together evilly. Fear wrote itself on Tamaki's face as he screamed,

_"Why!?" _Alex snickered in amusement, a hand clasped over her mouth.

* * *

"So, Alex...where'd you get those scars?" Daichi questioned curiously-he had a feeling _Kyoya _knew, and was slightly peeved that he didn't, but refused to let his jealousy show. Alex tensed, before forcing herself to shrug nonchalantly.

"Meh, Hikaru and Kaoru ran me over with their limo and I got shot by a lousy mugger who was trying to kill Kaoru after they hit me with their car, after I stopped the mugger from robbing an old lady of her purse." Wow, it's been forever since she told someone that. The short, half-truth version, that is. Brings back memories of when she first joined the Host Club-by force, of course. _Stupid Kyoya... _She thought as she bit her lip, feeling her face heat up a little at the thought of the annoying spectacles wearing man.

Daichi's jaw dropped, not expecting such an explanation, "You-You're joking, right? That didn't really happen?" She shrugged and Daichi felt his face pale, Oh, my god...How are you not traumatized?"

Alex laughed nervously as she scratched her left arm, a habit she had found she couldn't break after doing it for so long, "Hehe...Lucky, I guess?"

_Wrong_. Alex _was_ traumatized. She didn't want to die-_alone_.

"That kind of stuff just doesn't scare me."

_Lie_. She could feel someone staring at her from behind and tried to ignore the chill she felt going down her spine. Turning her head she saw Kyoya looking at her. She felt her face heat up and she quickly turned her head back around. _Stop-Stop looking at me... _She could feel her bottom lip trembling as she tried to stop herself from crying out and telling him to quit looking at her. She was pretty sure he knew what kind of effect he had on her, and did this to her on purpose...

_Like that time in the kitchen, the annoying bastard... _She thought as she narrowed her eyes. She remembered the way he trapped her against the sink counter, his arms pinning her and trapping her, his warm breathe grazing her ear and neck...The feeling of his chest pressed against her back, the heat radiating off of his body and the smell of _him_. He didn't wear any scent-sprays, so he just smelled of _him_. That lovely freshly-showered smell and that hint of mint... Before she even realized what she was doing, she had buried her red face into her hands, her arm pressed against her chest so she could feel her racing heart. _Ugh...I hate him, so fucking much-the jerk. I hate him. Why does he keep doing this to me? Quit looking at me already! Ahhh! I can't take this much longer! _She screamed in her head, utterly and completely embarrassed by her thoughts. She was crushing on him-she was crushing on him _hard_.

Is this how one realizes the difference between "like" and "love"? If so, does this mean that she "loves" him rather than "Like" him? Alex quickly went though everything in her mind and all the things that could point to "Like" and "Love" and just caring about said person in general.

It was true that he was her best friend, and that she...she cares about him, a lot, and would do anything to protect him, but that was how she was about all her friends. She-She risked her _life _for someone she didn't even know! _Twice! _So, that doesn't really say much about her feelings as it does her character. _Uh, let's see... _Unbeknownst to her, Daichi was staring her intently, watching every single facial expression she was making as she thought this, _I-I told him about the-the "Other Half" thing, and I'm much more comfortable around him then anyone else. I freaking **hugged **him! I never did that when I liked Liam...back in my...dimension. _She then remembered the incident during the last week of last month, and her face turned a strawberry red, _Holy shit I kissed him-I-I mean, it was on the cheek so-so that wouldn't mean it would be suspicious, right? He wouldn't have noticed? Shit, what do I do!? _

She felt her face fall slightly at the memory of how she would run to Ellena when she had these kinds of problems...Or the boy she called "Brother". Drake Connors. He wasn't really blood related, nor were Marie and Brianna, but they all had the same last names and thought of her as family. When you think about it, _Connors_ is a very common last name. Ellena had been one of the few females to accept her for who she was not, not finding her annoying or irritating. She always said,

_"Well I like you, so screw those people who don't." _and _"I love you, Alex. I can't hate you." _She was possibly the only female she was _close _to that she didn't think of as family. Ellena was the _only _girl who ever tried to cheer her up and make her feel safe and secure.

And Kyoya, in his own strange little way, made her feel safe and secure as well and she loved the man to death for that. He made her feel safe just by being near her, he made her feel cared for and loved just by _standing _or _hugging _her, and despite his annoying little antics of his "Shadow King-ly-ness", he made her happy just by being her friend. It was weird, but she felt happy when he blurts out his emotions and yells at her, because it showed that he cared and worried about her-but it also bothered her because he hid his emotions and let them bottle up inside until he could no longer control it and let it out all at once. That wasn't good for a person, Alex would know, but that was how he was. That was how _she _was.

Their differences were often complimentary and their similarities were easily noticed, and what one lacks the other often gives. The two have a slight...mutual understanding of each other and in a way, it was because of that they were able to become friends. They respected each other for their talents and skills, and even their flaws and perfections.

Alex knew Kyoya hid behind walls because he was vulnerable on the inside, and she _knew _that he knew that she hid behind walls because emotions scared her as she couldn't predict them, despite the fact that she knew a lot about them.

He cared for her despite how much he tried to hide it, and even worried about her and comforted her when she most needed it, and it was because of that that she realized it would be almost impossible to live without him.

Alex froze when she realized this, Daichi noticing. Frowning in worry, he asked, "Alex...Are you alright? Alex?" She didn't hear him, too lost in her realization. Well, she heard _someone _call her name-she just ignored whoever it was.

_I...can't live without him. I don't want to live without him. He's **there**. He's always there. Since I came here, there's practically never a time when I'm not with him, and the thought of not-not having him here with me... _The tears pricked her eyes before she realized it and the pain in her chest became more prominent, her stomach twisting and turning uncomfortably at the realization.

Is this what "love" is? Is that difference between "Like" and "Love"?

Like is when you try hard to get someone to notice you, and that if they get disfigured, you'd stay by their side either way. That's how you know how you truly like someone.

But when you _love _someone, the very thought of them not being there with you...being _gone _and no longer by your side...it feels as though its tearing you to shreds and it's heartbreak all over again, only ten times worse because it would almost be like them being _dead_.

Alex loved-no, _loves _Kyoya, and after a few moments of thought, realized that she couldn't bear to live in a world-_dimension_-no, _**universe**_, without him.

The girl jumped when Daichi snapped his fingers in front of her face, causing her to reel back and stare at him with wide eyes. "Wh-What happened!? What'd I do!?"

"You zoned out with this strange smile on your face," He stated before frowning sadly, "Was it about _him_?"

"Who?" She asked, playing dumb despite the red blush that grew on her face.

Alex had thought it impossible to fall in love after only eight months, but when you spent almost every day with that person for eight months, it's pretty damn possible.

Daichi stared at her long and hard, before mushroom sighing as stress lined formed on his face, "Nevermind...Nice swimsuit by the way. Didn't think you of all people would end up with curves like that."

"Hah?" Alex said and looked down at herself before crossing her arms over her chest again, "Shut up, no one asked you anyway." He grinned at her.

"And to think that you're so self-conscious of it...how cute."

Getting uncomfortable, Alex stood saying, "_Aaaand _I'm out." She started power walking over to where she guessed Haruhi would be, only to hear a scream and freeze, making a decision to run towards the source hesitantly. Thinking that very same, _Oh, what the hell_, that she did that day, she ran as fast as her short legs could take her up that hill on the cliff, charging and slamming into the man who was groping Akiko and Rina, while the other man held Haruhi's wrist in a vice-like grip as Kurakano lay there on her bruised knees on the sand, clearly having been pushed forcefully.

The girls screamed as the man released them, stumbling and toppling backwards as Alex landed on him awkwardly. Aiming a punch to his gut, she cried out in pain when he sat up quickly and gripped her arm, turning it behind her back. Reeling her knee up, she kicked the man in the knee harshly causing him to scream as he pushed her forward, sending her stumbling and falling into the sand and scraping her knees. She flinched.

"Why you little-" The man started angrily, only to get cut off when Akiko popped up from behind and pushed him, sending him stumbling but not toppling. "Hey-Think you two are playing tough? Listen here, scar-face, you and your sissy-boy boyfriend can't take us on!" The man growled as he forcefully lifted Alex off the ground by her arm. He gripped it tightly, trying to draw out a sound of pain from the girl.

Alex had grounded her teeth together and was currently glaring at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Go run!" She heard Haruhi shout at the girls, who hesitated before running away. "Hurry!" They quickened their pace.

The man holding Haruhi growled before he threw her onto the ground and kicked her in the side, "Why you-" A grin spread across his face an idea formed in his mind, "How about a dip?" Alex's eyes widened and she struggled in the man's grip, crying out,

"Haruhi! Haruhi, look out-!" She shouted, but Haruhi wasn't able to move away in time for the man had already picked her up by the shirt and was dangling her over by the cliff, "No! _NO!_"

"Say good bye to your sissy-boy boyfriend, bitch."

_**"HARUHI!" **_Alex briefly registered the rest of the Host Club's voices before she had raised her knee up and _kicked _him where the sun don't shine. Squealing like a girl, the man released her as he fell to his knees.

"Alex, don't you-"

She had already dived in after the girl, taking in a deep breathe and folding her self into a ball as she slammed into the water. It hurt, she'll admit, but she had to get to Haruhi. She refused to let her die-she _refused_. If anyone was going to play in this death trap and lose, it would be _her_. Not Haruhi, _her_.

Ignoring the stinging pain in her eyes as she opened them, she kicked her legs in the water as she swam down, reaching as far out as she could with her short arms as she tried to grab onto Haruhi's shirt. Something rubbed against her side and she accidental opened her mouth to scream, jolting and causing water to enter her mouth. She swallowed it and nearly gagged, moving away from Haruhi's sinking form a bit before grounding her teeth together and narrowing her eyes in determination, swimming furiously despite how much her lungs were aching for air.

She was almost there. She could taste the disgusting water in her lungs and cursed silently at the fish that brushed her side, stretching her arms out and spreading her fingers, barely brushing against Haruhi's arm.

_Almost...got it..._ Squinting her eyes, she felt lightheaded and her body started to feel heavier, which was probably the reason why she started to sink into the sea and was able to finally grasp the girl's arm. Reaching out with her other arm, she grabbed onto the back of Haruhi's shirt and awkwardly turned her around so her back was against her chest, the two of them sinking at an even faster pace now.

Alex knew. She knew she was going to have to let go if she wanted at least Haruhi to make it out of this alive. Knowing that she would be able to hold in for much longer, she was glad when she saw Tamaki's blurry figure swimming towards them quickly, blue eyes scanning the area before landing on them.

Mouthing, _"I'm sorry"_, to him with a small smile, invisible tears blending in with the water surrounding them, she used the last of her strength to push Haruhi towards the blonde, sinking farther into the dark depths of the sea.

Like before, a face flashed in her mind and she gave one last struggle as she tried to kick herself up to the surface, but proved to weak and sank.

...

Tamaki's eyes widened at the look on Alex's face, despite the stinging pain the water was causing him, and watched in horror as she pushed Haruhi to him before closing her eyes and opening her mouth, allowing water to flow in and carry down into the deep depths. So in shock, he almost missed Haruhi as she started to sink again, and grabbed onto her and pulled her into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, coming to a grave and hard decision that made his chest ache in pain as he swam up as fast as he could to the surface.

Carrying Haruhi bridal-style, tears pricking his eyes as he breathed heavily, he stepped out onto the shore with a solemn, frightened face. All the Host Club members ran over to him, obviously confused and worried and scared at the same time.

"Haruhi!"

"Haru-Chan!"

"Is she okay-where's Alex?"

Tamaki stared at them with scared, horrified eyes, "She-She's still down-I could only get Haruhi! Alex-She-" He wasn't even able to finish before Kyoya had thrown his shirt onto the collapsed brunette in Tamaki's arms and placed his glasses on her abdomen, running at break-neck speed before diving into the ocean, "K-Kyoya!"

"Is he _crazy_!?" Hikaru demanded, alarmed as he took a few steps towards the shore of the sea, frightened for both Kyoya, who had just went on a crazy scouting mission, and Alex, who had apparently drowned after giving Haruhi to Tamaki. "What the hell is he doing!?"

"Kyoya-Sempai! Come back!" Kaoru cried, eyes turning red and tears pricked them, "It's too late!"

Mitsukuni gripped Takashi's hand tightly, trying hard not to cry as he whispered, "She's probably at the bottom of the sea by now..."

Nekozawa's creepy laughter echoed around them, and Tamaki was too horrified at the thought of Alex's death to even _be _terrified of the man, "I wouldn't be so sure of that..." Beelzenef had a foreshadowing look on his face, his hands pressed together as a smile grew.

...

Kyoya could barely see, the waters depths so dark and that he was no longer wearing his glasses. If it wasn't for the fact that Alex was so pale and her swimsuit was so bright, he probably wouldn't have found her at all. She was laying on a rockface with her right arm and her feet dangling off of it. He swam as fast as he could, intent on making it out alive-making it out with her _alive_. He couldn't let Alex die. He _wouldn't_.

He wouldn't admit it, but he needed her there with him. Until he heard Tamaki say that he couldn't get her out, he didn't realize just how much he _depended _on Alex. In this world of insanity, it was almost a wonder why it was _her _that kept him _sane_.

She wasn't breathing, her skin pale and cold as he touched her, sliding his hands underneath her legs and the crook of her back as he pulled her to him. Her lips were slightly blue and that was when Kyoya realized that she would need CPR when they arrive back at the surface.

_Your...more trouble...than you're worth! _He thought in aggravation as he kicked his feet off the rockface, pressing her body close to his as he swam up to the surface as fast as he could without gaining whip-lash.** _Don't you die on me, damn it!_ **He thought in desperation and anger. He was scared, for the second time in his life, Kyoya was _scared_. He was scared he was going to lose the annoying brunette because of two _bastards _who wanted "fun". If they're still there by the time he gets back up, he's gonna kill them _himself_.

His head hit the surface and he gasped, breathing in as much air as he could as he tried to rejuvenate his lungs. Sliding his hand down Alex's leg, he pushed her into a bridal-style similar to Tamaki's as he pulled her from underneath the water. He didn't bother walking-no, he was too _frightened _to walk.

He ran. He ran as fast as he could to the sand before plopping her down gently onto her back and gripping her chin and plugging her nose, opening her mouth and pressing his against it as he breathed air into her.

"Alex!" He heard his friends screaming, and some were probably even crying or at the very least holding back their tears, as he tried to conduct CPR on the girl.

"Is she alright?"

"Alex-" He tried to tune them out, pushing his large hands over the area where her heart would be and pressing down on it roughly eight times before opening her mouth and breathing air into her again. He pressed his ear against her chest to try and hear her heartbeat, and started to grow slightly panicked when he didn't hear anything.

"Is-"

_"Shut up!" _Kyoya snapped, glaring at them all before pressing down on her chest a few more times, growling darkly, "_Wake. Up. Damn it!" _Taking in another deep breathe of air, he tried again.

And again.

And again.

Pressing his lips against hers one last time, he _prayed _for a response-Kyoya wasn't religious in the slightest, but if she just _came back to him_, then he would consider it. He paused in his breathing air into her, feeling something wet slide against his cheek.

Kyoya realized he was _crying_, and before even realizing it, he had cupped her cheek with his hand and let his lips linger on hers for a moment before removing it and resting his forehead against hers, whispering with closed eyes, "Wake up...wake up, you damn _moron_."

Not getting a response, he let out an anguished scream before _yelling_ as he slammed his fist down into the sand, scraping and causing his knuckles to bleed, _"WAKE UP, DAMN IT!" _

He wasn't even able to finish before Alex coughed harshly, trying to scream in terror as fear written itself on her face. Water bubbled out of her throat as her eyes opened-red. _Bright red. _Coughing harshly, water along with little crimson liquid splattered against the sand, her face contorting from fear to pain. Resting her head against the sand exhaustively, she was barely able to make out a pair of onyx brown eyes before her eyes fluttered close. She coughed a few more times, before just falling unconscious.

Kneeling before the girl, Haruhi muttered to herself with tears in her eyes, "This is all my fault..." _I knew we shouldn't have come-why was she so insistent on us coming to the beach? _

"Haru-Chan..." Mitsukuni spoke with sad eyes as he stared at his teary eyed friend. "Don't say that. Lexi-Chan tried to save you-"

"Which is exactly why she's like this now."

"Just...what..." Tamaki began, bangs covering his eyes as his fists shook at his sides-fear or anger, no one knew. They only knew that he was _furious _and _scared _and _frightened _to the very bones when he demanded as he glared at her, "_What the hell were you two **thinking**!?_ Taking on two guys by yourselves-are you _stupid_? Neither of you are martial arts masters, nor have you won any diving competitions! You're _trying _to get yourselves _killed! _Alex-She-She almost _ended _up _dead _because she, _and _you, tried to take on two _guys _by yourselves! You would be in the very same position as her if she didn't risk life to dive in after you-_why didn't either of you **call **us!?_ We were right _here! _We could've came to help!"

He had handed her to Mori a while ago and the male was watching silently as Tamaki lectured her angrily, out of fear and worry for her protection. Alex's near-death had scared, but if it had been _Haruhi_...He didn't want to think about it.

"Don't forget, you two are _girls! _You can't take on two full grown men by yourselves!"

Haruhi narrowed her eyes, face hardening, "Girl or not, I had to do something. I couldn't just let those girls get attacked and do _nothing _about it! I'm not the only one who thought that way-Alex most likely did as well! Besides, when your in a situation like that, there isn't time to consider-"

"Just _think about it_, stupid!"

"Well, I'm _sorry_, but I don't understand what I'm being lectured about! I don't think Alex and I did anything wrong!"

Tamaki narrowed his eyes darkly, tears having long been formed inside them, "Yeah? Then do whatever the hell you want. Because I'm not talking to you until you can admit that you're wrong!"

Nobody had noticed the twins and Kyoya by the unconscious girl's side, Kyoya on the phone with a Doctor while the Twins held her hands tightly, no longer surprised by their worry for the girl they had come to think as a sister.

* * *

Alex awoke in a bedroom, the lights off so the room was dark. She wasn't completely aware of her surroundings, her eyes dry and her throat sore. She could barely blink, it hurt so much. Her right hand resting on her stomach, she blearily looked around the room as she tried to figure out where she was.

_"Want me to take your place, Alex?" _The brunette froze, eyes darting around the room as she tried to find the source of the voice, _"Ah...not yet, it seems...My bad. He says I can't yet. The Doctor made you better, though, I'm still worried..." _

Akari. That _damn _Akari Ayuzawa. The selfless little Akari. If she even _tried _to do anything stupid like giving her arm up again, she's gonna have to smack some sense into her.

Alex laid there in the bed for a few minutes, exhausted and trying to recoup her energy. Lifting herself up, she flinched as she reached over and placed a hand on her abdomen, wincing. There was a nice big purple bruise on her right side, as was her right shoulder, both her knees, and her left heel. There were a few scraps here and there, but mainly bruises. "Fun..." Her voice was raspy, from the seawater, and she coughed. Making a pained face, she shook her head as she turned on the bed to where her legs were dangling off the edge.

The carpet was blue.

The blankets were black.

And the pajamas that lay on the end of the bed were purple and black.

Ah..._Right...Nekozawa's...vacation home. Right-wait, I'm alive? _Alex froze, in shock, "I'm-I'm a-I'm alive? Holy _shit_, I'm alive-!" She was cut off by rough coughs, quickly shivering and rubbing her arms. _Damn it..._"I-It's _cooold_." She shivered again, teeth clattering together. It was cold, but not as cold as those icy depths had been. She decided it would be best to put on the pajamas, as she was pretty sure that they were meant for her to wear.

Pulling off her swim suit, she put on the purple and black spaghetti strap tank-top and black shorts. Quickly stumbling around the room, her foot hurting a bit from the bruise on her heel, she managed to find a bathroom with _her _toothbrush and toothpaste already in there-probably courtesy of the twins.

Realizing that she should've taken a shower in the first place, she did so and re-put on her pajamas and dried her hair with a towel, walking out of the room only to stare in surprise at a wide-eyed Kyoya who was standing in the room looking at her in shock, shirtless.

Feeling much better than she did when she woke, when she spoke her voice didn't rasp, "Uh, hey. How's it-_ey!" _She screeched in alarm when she was suddenly slammed up against the wall, his left hand gripping her right wrist tightly as he pressed it against the wall.

_"What is your problem!?" _He demanded angrily, pissed off. Alex stared wide eyed, not expecting this to happen just an hour and ten minutes after she just woke up from darkness, "Were you _trying _to get yourself killed!?"

"I-I-" She couldn't speak, too alarmed to say anything. Swallowing, she tried to clear her head and think what he could possibly be angry about before it hit her, "How's Haruhi! Is she alright!? Did Tamaki get her out in time-is she-"

"_Your the one who nearly **died**, damn it!"_ He growled, his grip tightening around her wrist as his face neared hers, "Why the hell do you insist on sacrificing yourself for others!? It's really starting to_ piss me off!" _

She flinched, this being the most angry she had ever seen of Kyoya yet, "Sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-I'm sorry, but I couldn't just let her die-" She cut herself off and her eyes widened in shock when she felt him press his forehead against hers, his grip against her wrist loosening slightly.

"Damn it, Alex...Damn it, damn it, damn it, _damn it_!" He growled, cursing repeatedly. Moving his hand from her wrist to her shoulders, he gripped them tightly for a moment as he muttered darkly, "You...damn..._Moron!" _He cupped her cheeks, lifting her head up to lock eyes with him as he leaned down so their faces were inches apart, "_What were you thinking!?" _

"I...I couldn't let them get hurt, Kyoya. I wasn't going to let those guys rape them, nor-nor was I going to let Haruhi drown." Alex couldn't speak-too many emotions were being thrown at her at once-it was-it was difficult to process. They were unpredictable.

The two of them understand each other, they respect each other, but when so many emotions are being tossed around, it scared her. She didn't know how to react. It frightened her. She didn't want to fight. She didn't like to fight-especially with Kyoya. She liked it when he told her that he worried about her, because it means he cares, but she didn't like being screamed at like-like...like she did something _wrong_.

That was the only way she could describe it. _Wrong_. _Bad. __  
_

"Why-" She couldn't help herself from asking, slightly fearful of the truth. She hoped it was what she thought it was, but she also didn't want it to be what she thought it was because she really didn't want to find out in a situation like this if it was _true_, and if it wasn't _true _and it was something else entirely...She would be heartbroken beyond repair, "Why are you so _mad _at me? What-I'm-I'm sorry-What-What did I do?"

"You _died _on me." He growled harshly before closing the distance between the two, intent on getting the message clear. Her eyes widened, frozen stiff as her body became rigid. Slowly, her face started to become red...and redder...and redder... He pulled away and rested his hands against the wall behind her, leaning down so that he could rest his head on her shoulder, "I won't...I _refuse _to let you die again. I told you that you had a second chance at life..." Slowly raising his head up again, Alex could only blink in shock as he locked his nearly onyx eyes with her brown, "So don't _waste _it."

Slowly and unsurely, the girl hesitantly raised a hand up to his face and cupped his left (her right) cheek and brushed the clear liquid that streaked down his cheek with her thumb. She had never seen Kyoya cry before, and to be honest, she never wanted to see him like this again. Kyoya was one of the strongest people she knew, and to see him crying in front of her-_screaming _in front of her, it worried her.

Biting her lip, she stared up at him for a few more moments before leaning forwards and awkwardly placing her lips against his-only to jump at the sound of lightning crackling in the distance. A chuckle rumbled out of Kyoya's throat at her reaction, amused.

"Startled by thunder?"

"N-No, shut up!" She snapped, irritated all of a sudden. Why was she so annoyed? "Jerk..." She wasn't even able to blink before Kyoya embraced her tightly, holding her close and refusing to release her. "K-Kyoya?"

"Don't...do that again. I refuse to loose you- I _won't _let you go. You're mine, one way or another, I won't let you die or let anyone else have you."

Blinking a few times, she thought of what to say before asking in a slight joking tone, remembering a conversation they had a long time ago, "Since when were you so possessive?"

"Didn't you say that Scorpios are possessive?"

"Touche."

She then came to the realization that he was always there for her, but she wasn't always there for him. He always comforted her when she needed it...but where was she? Realizing this, the girl frowned, deciding this was the time when she would start to be there for Kyoya. He was always there for her-she needed to be there for _him_. So, in an attempt to comfort him, she stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck as best as she could with her short height.

It didn't last for very long though.

The sound of knocking on the door made them break away from each other, a dark red on Alex's face while Kyoya's eyes hid behind his glasses. Opening the door, Hikaru and Kaoru walked in, a certain lolita and Sasquatch behind them.

Alex screamed when she was suddenly tackled around the waist by Mitsukuni, who was crying. Even Mori looked sad as he looked at her, which was a strange look on his normally emotionless face.

"Lexi-Chaaan! I-I-I was so _worried! _You didn't wake even after Kyo-Chan revived you and-and-_WAAAAAHH!" _Not knowing what else to do, the girl awkwardly ruffled the boy's hair saying,

"I'm fine, see? Fine..." She tried to clear her mind of what just happened moments ago, or else she probably wouldn't be able to function properly. The boy snuggled his face into her stomach, shaking his head.

"No! No, no, no! No more doing that! Bad, Lexi-Chan-_apologize, _now!"

The girl was so confused at this point, but said anyway, "Uh...sorry?" She had no idea how to comfort anyone.

"You scared us, Alex."

"_Again._" Kaoru added to his brothers statement, voice firm and a frown on his face. He spoke, a sad and hurt look in his eyes, "Please, it's bad enough with Haruhi becoming reckless, but we nearly lost _you_."

"Yeah." Mori said, looking down at the extremely short girl compared to his height.

Alex looked down, her bangs covering her face, "Sorry...I...I just didn't want anyone to get hurt."

She flinched and reeled back when someone flicked her in the forehead, and she looked up to see Hikaru glaring at it with a stern look in his eyes, "Yeah, well stop being so stupid! You're gonna _really _end up dead and no one is gonna be there to bring ya back, so stop trying to be the heroine!"

Alex raised her hands up in surrender, stress lines forming on her face as she sweatdropped, "Okay, okay-got it, got it...Sorry. I'm sorry..." Her voice softened at the last sentence. She looked up in confusion, "Hey, where's Haruhi-?" She jumped at the sudden strike of lightning, startling her. She was _scared _of it, it just was really loud and came out of nowhere. She cursed loudly.

"Ah!" Everyone came to the same realization.

...

"Why are they in your room? Did you try and rape her?" Alex deadpanned, a sour look on her face as she stared at the scene in front of her.

Kyoya blinked and stared at her with a raised eyebrow, "Of course not. I was merely proving a point and left when Tamaki appeared to go check on you."

_Yes, and see where that went-_ Her thoughts cut off, her face turning a bright red at the memory.

"You nasty _pervert_." Hikaru growled, utterly disgusted by Tamaki.

"What kind of foreplay is _that_?" Kaoru demanded, making a sour face.

Alex couldn't help but add with a face-palm, "Where the hell did you even _get _the blindfold?"

"Ah, this is really nice!" Haruhi commented obliviously, earplugs in her ears and a blind fold over her eyes, Tamaki hovering over her "suspiciously".

Even Mori and Mitsukuni had sour looks.

"It's not what it looks like! I swear! I was just trying to help-!" No one bothered to listen to him.

* * *

**May 4, 2014**

Hikaru warned the taller brunette, "You better watch your back, Haruhi!"

Kaoru nodded, an elbow on the limo with his fist on his cheek, "I never would've pegged the boss as an S&amp;M pervert."

Alex had to comment as she got in after Kyoya, sitting in the middle, "I don't really see him as a masochist, _or _a sadist. If anyone would be a sadist, you'd think it would be Kyoya." She felt a chill run down her spine when he turned his head and asked,

"What was that, _Alex_?"

"Nothing!" She squeaked, slightly scared to talk now.

Tamaki fumed, "I _told _you; it wasn't like that at _all!" _

Getting in the limo and closing the door, Haruhi stared sourly at Tamaki from the window, "I see...Well, now I know what "S&amp;M" is." Turning her head, she muttered as she rolled the window up, "I can't believe I almost let you get away with it."

Hikaru and Kaoru got in while Tamaki cried out in protest, "I wasn't doing anything freaky-I was trying to help you!"

"Your voice cracked!" Alex called to the blonde, grinning. She then turned to Haruhi, hugging the girl, "Don't worry, I'll make sure the big bad blonde stays away from you!"

"Yeah...sure." Haruhi had already apologized to Alex after she found out she was awake, and Alex forgave her-even though Haruhi had nothing she needed to apologize for.

"Let's go." Kyoya ordered the chauffeur, who took off and left Tamaki behind.

Tamaki screamed and chased after them, crying out in protest.

Alex blinked and stared worriedly at Kyoya, asking, "Are we just gonna leave him there?"

"He'll be fine."

She sweatdropped, only to have her face flare red when he looked at her because of the memory that rang in her head like a recorder.

"_HEEEEY! Don't leave without meee! Wait you guys~!" _Tamaki sounded like he was close to crying.

**I'm not sure what I think of this chapter, cause I'm pretty sure some of you are gonna kill me for killing her off...AGAIN, but, uh, hey? KyoyaxAlex? **


	19. A Challenge from Lobelia Girls' Academy

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting.**

**Theme song? _I'm Alive _by Becca. I don't own any anime or their characters. I only own Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler references...and others.**

**I hadn't realized it, but the person I chose to "Voice" Alex in this fanfiction actually voiced Asuna from Sword Art and Yuri Egin from Blue Exorcist, Elizabeth from Black Butler, Patty from Soul Eater, Setsuna and Akira from Negima, Kirimi from Ouran, and Premula from Shuffle...Also Lucy from Fairytale-though I knew that one.**

**O.o**

**Anyway, her "Voice actor" is Cherami Leigh**

**"The currently guilty authoress does not own Ouran High School Host Club, she only owns her Ocs. She also doesn't own any other animes such as Black Butler, Death note, or any other animes mentioned in this fanfic," Kaoru started to list off, reading from a sheet of paper, "She also apologies for all the late updates, but with all the parades going on and the ISSMA contest and her having to march in those, along with school work and other fanfictions such as "The Complicated Truth" and "Demons' Flames Beautiful" and "SAO: Era of Change" that she has posted on her DeviantArt, and trying to finish Fairytale, Deathnote, and Mirai Nikki, and Problem Children are Coming From Another World aren't they? it was rather difficult-wait, why am I reading this again?"**

**My head popped out from a kitchen where a grilled cheese was cooking, "Because I threatened to take away some screen time and Hikaru if you didn't. You also forgot to mention me working on a VK fanfic on my deviantart called "Kinji Rareta Unmei"."**

**"Why can't you do it?"**

**"I'm lazy!"**

**May 18, 2014**

The doors opened and like always, the Host Club greeted the new comers, only to stare at a surprised Haruhi and random guy from their spots on the couch.

Everyone was dressed as knights, except for Alex who was forced to wear a black and green princess costume. The random guy wearing the Ouran Uniform knelt down in front of Haruhi and kissed her hand, saying, "-I vow that I shall never leave your side until the day my life ends-"

Alex cut in, slightly annoyed at the cheesiness-not that she had a problem with it or anything, she usually enjoyed a good cheesy line, "Less drama, more...Mystery. Act like a bad boy, girls love that kind of thing. Say something like," Everyone paused at what they were doing and watched as Alex started to make movements, saying, "I know I've never told you this before, but if you want me to be honest...I love you". I never outright said it before, because I thought you knew, but I do."

Hikaru and Kaoru ran over and grabbed the girl by the arms, complaining, **"Alex~! Don't encourage the creep!"**

"But, I'm _bored-!"_

**_"No!"_**

"Fine..."

The man from earlier spoke, looking at Alex in surprise, "Two young maidens?" Calmly moving away from Haruhi, he started to head towards Alex saying with an apologetic face, "Please, forgive me, Miss. If I had known you were here I would have given you my unyielding attention-"

Alex took a few steps back, uncomfortable with how close he was getting to her, and said awkwardly, "Um, cool, but, uh-_Haruhi! _Help!"

Haruhi gave her a deadpan, "Don't drag me into this." Alex gave the brunette an almost glaring look, but froze and felt uncomfortable shivers go up her spine when the man grabbed her chin and leaned in so their noses were almost touching.

"Your eyes have seen so many things, but there's still an innocence that lurks that begs to remain untouched," The man spoke, his deep voice oddly reminding Alex of a girl's. Weird-wait, _Doesn't this seem familiar? I'm sure I've seen this random person before... _She just couldn't name when or where, "Unlike these foul beasts here, I would _never _leave my lover alone."

"H-Hey," Alex began, leaning her head back in an attempt to move from the person, her hands on their shoulders, "Look, you got the wrong idea-"

"Even if I were to die, I would _never _leave your side my love-" The person was rudely interrupted when a pair of hands pushed the two away, a book against the others chest and a hand against Alex's left shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from harassing our Hostess; It's against the Club's policy to sexually harass one another."

Alex almost felt her heart skip a beat, feeling her face heat up a she gave Kyoya a huge smile, growing incredibly excited for some reason, "Kyoya!"

Haruhi let out a sigh of relief from the sidelines, _Somehow, I'm not surprised it was Kyoya who came to her rescue. The two should just hurry up, kiss, and get together already, honestly. _It was _so _obvious the two had feelings-and the tension between them almost drove her up the wall. Maybe she should have Renge and Akiko plan something... Nah, too much work. She grew confused for a moment, _Wait, but what about that one kiss that day a few months ago? Could they be dating in secret? _She then sweatdropped, _I'm sounding too much like Tamaki-Sempai..._

"Is that so?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow, his beautiful face frowning at Kyoya's handsome one.

_Wait a minute... _Alex though intensely for a moment, staring up at the man before it hit her. She gasped, clapping her hands together before pointing a finger up at the man in the Ouran Uniform, "AH! I got it! _A challenge from Lobelia Girls' Academy! _Right!?"

The Host Club spoke in unison, utterly confused, **"What?" **Kyoya and Mori were the only silent ones, Kyoya merely looking down at her through his glasses.

The man, no _woman_, looked down at her with a smirk, "That's correct. Of course, only a beautiful and highly intelligent young maiden such as yourself would be able to figure it out."

Haruhi spoke up, raising a hand, "Can someone please tell me what's going on here?"

"Benibara-!" A girl exclaimed as she and another woman in Ouran Uniforms ran over, "You're late!"

"Where have you been-?" The second one asked, catching sight of Haruhi out of the corner of her eye, "Oh! You're incorrigible-where on _earth _did you find such a lovely gem?"

"This one's nice enough," The first one stated, pulling Alex away from Kyoya by her dress sleeve and giving her a judgmental look, "but she's too sarcastic for her own good and those scars don't benefit her looks at all."

Alex felt as though someone had dumped ice cold water on her, a deep pain in her chest hitting her.

"Now now, Suzuran, no need to be so rude." The second girl, the one with the acorn yellow hair, commented before quickly grabbing Alex and dipping the poor girl down so she could run a hand up and down her leg, "After all, her skin _is _rather soft! Oh, my!"

"Suzuran" had moved over to Haruhi and dipped her as well, rubbing her face against the brunette's leg, "What about this one, Hinagiku?"

"Hinagiku" commented with a smile, "I think they're going to be diamonds in the rough!"

"Their skin is so clear!"

"But the scar is so..._there_. You look at her and it's the first thing you notice!"

Alex flinched, despite her attempt to hold it back.

"Just look at her clear, maidenly eyes!" The woman with the deep voice commented, staring into Haruhi's dark eyes. Stress line formed on the poor Host's face and she said,

"Can you back away, please?"

"DON'T GO TOUCHING MY DAUGHTERS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION-!" Tamaki screamed in pain when the woman's fist came and hit him underneath the chin, sending him flying back towards the couch.

"Leave them alone!" The woman snapped, glaring as she watched Tamaki hold his tear-stained face as he backed up towards the couch, pointing at her.

"She _punched _me!"

Mori offered Tamaki his Kuma-Chan, Kyoya was holding some Vanilla icecream in his hand, Hikaru was holding up the Japan flag, and Kaoru was carrying some balloons. Mitsukuni was the only one without an item of comfort, other than his Usa-Chan of course.

"She's so _violent!_"

"Get a hold of yourself!" Mitsukuni told the blonde, frowning worriedly.

The woman with the deep voice commented, "I guess the rumors are true, though he's even more of a retard that expected. You guys are just a bunch of weak little punks with no sense between you."

Kyoya spoke, pushing up his glasses with a hand on his hip, "Judging by your reactions, you're not from here, are you?"

Alex cut in with a tick mark, "I _said _they were from Lobelia, already!" His glasses flashed.

"I know what you said, _princess_," Alex tried to ignore the blush that formed on her face as she gave him an annoyed look, "I just want to hear it from them themselves."

She turned her head, and despite her attempts to not look at him her eyes darted over to look him in the eyes as she muttered, "Shut up...No one asked you."

The woman and the girls quickly stripped themselves of their uniforms, revealing a white tip with a red bow and knee-length skirt underneath.

The woman sang, "_Lobelia~! _St. Lobelia Academy, Second Year, Benio Amakusa!"

"Same School, Second Year, Chizuru Maihara," Suzuran spoke.

"Same School, First Year Student, Hinako Tsuwabuki!"

Benio extender a hand with a white rose in her mouth, saying, "We are St. Lobelia Academy's "White Lily League". Also known as-!"

**"The Zuka Club!"**

There was a silence as the two clubs stared at each other, Kyoya having to hold his glasses on his face as he felt like they may fall off. Everyone else, except Mori whose eyebrows were furrowed, had dumbfounded expressions.

...

The silence seemed to continue, not wanting to be broken.

...

"The...Zuka...Club"?" Tamaki questioned as he slowly lost all color, "So then...lesbians?"

Hikaru and Kaoru quickly burst out into laughter, holding onto their stomachs as tears fell from their eyes.

"What a _stupid _name-"The Zuka Club"! _Hahahaha!"_

"The Zuka Club"! That's the greatest-!" Kaoru could barely talk, practically rolling around on the floor in laughter.

"Their a bunch of _lesbos_-!" Hikaru gasped, nearly suffocating. "-my stomach hurts!"

"It's _priceless! _And they had _uniforms _underneath their _uniforms_!" Alex frowned, not understanding what was wrong with lesbians. So, what? People of the same gender/sex liked each other, what's so bad about that?

Haruhi sighed, shuffling the bag in the arms, before stating as she headed towards the kitchen, "I'm going to go put the coffee away."

"I'm going to go sit on the couch," Alex declared, nodding her head in agreement with Haruhi. Yawning, she completely ignored Renge's speech about Lobelia Girls' Academy.

Once the speech was done, Alex lifted her head and stared with bored eyes as Suzuran spoke, "A girl's beauty. The internal beauty and pure soul. One that does not give into physical desires."

Hinagiku added, "Because you're a woman", "You're only a woman". I am sick and tired of hearing men's coerce degradation of the female kind."

Benio finished with a smile, "We are proud; Our souls have an equal relationship made possibly by being the same sex in the same environment. It truly is..."

**"A romantic relationship!" **The other two girls squealed as the hugged Benio. Alex blinked a few times before joining the twins in their videogame playing.

"Ah, you should've grabbed that ether," She commented and flinched when their screen read "Game Over", "Told you."

The clients have already left, so the twins have found it fit to stop laughing.

Hikaru restarted to game and Kaoru commented,

"Over there, left."

Then they both spoke, **"Please go away. We don't have to worry about Haruhi being found out that she's girl since its you guys."**

"Up, up!" Alex shouted, getting excited as a grin showed on her face. She shuffled uncomfortably in the dress, but managed to lean over Kaoru and watch Hikaru play the game. She blinked and gasped when a pair of arms wrapped around her chest and pulled her backwards, her head resting against a woman's chest. She blinked and lifted her gaze to stare at Suzuran, who said,

"My, My! You must be _speechless _at our sublime female love!"

**"Let Alex go and leave, please." **The twins were starting to get even more bored of the situation-they just wanted to play their game.

"What are they even saying?" Hikaru asked his brother as he pressed a few buttons, only getting an instruction as a response.

"Go right."

"C-Can you let go, please?" _Okay, yeah, I'm okay with gays, lesbian, and bis, but these chicks are messing up the so-called circle of life with their speeches and their- _"P-Please, let go!" Alex flinched when she felt her pull her off the couch and embrace her tightly, resting her chin on her shoulder. _Kyoya..._

Hinagiku laughed obnoxiously, "Oh, my! They must not know what to do since their lame Host tactics don't work us!"

Suzuran nodded in agreement, her hair tickling Alex's face. _Kyoya, Haruhi...damn it, okay, that's it-! _Alex has had enough. Alex was about to push herself out of the woman's arms, only to get grabbed by the wrist and pulled forward, a fresh minty smell hitting her nose when she landed gently against a very familiar.

It was here, that the Hosts actually pulled off the whole "Knight in shining armor" stereotype.

Alex felt her face grow beet red, but she hugged Kyoya tightly regardless as she attempted to bury her face in his chest-which was difficult because of the armor he was wearing.

The girls' looked on at Kyoya in interest.

"Well this is interesting, isn't it Hinagiku?"

"I must say it is, sister Suzuran."

"Are you and that boy together?" Suzuran questioned with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. Alex blinked at the bluntness of the question.

There grew a silence in the music room as everyone thought about it.

"Well, there was that one time," Hikaru began thoughtfully, "where Kyoya-Sempai had pulled her to him and-"

"Not to mention his reaction at the beach." Kaoru added, nodding, "He was practically begging for her to wake up." Mitsukuni's eyes went wide in surprise,

"Eh? You mean Kyo-Chan and Lexi-Chan are dating?"

Mori spoke one syllable, "Yeah."

Hikaru and Kaoru gained identical grins and started to sing, **"Alex and Kyoya-Sempai, sittin' it a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-!"** They screamed when a highheel nearly got lodged into Hikaru's skull.

Alex had a dark aura surrounding her, a glare fixated on them, "What was that, _darling brothers _of mine?" They both gulped, paling considerably.

Benio spoke up angrily, realizing that there was something going on between those two, "We have told you that the lowly lifeforms of men such as them are only after _one _thing. You shall forever remain a maiden, for the Club's president may be a pretty little half-er," Benio began, turning to the rest of the Host Club with a hand on her hip and a fist in the air. ",but he shouldn't be using his looks to create a fictitious romance! Attempting to fool the heart of a pure young maiden is demeaning! Your so called club activities are nothing more than debasing macho fantasies!" The entire Host Club was watching now. "I promise you, I will bring you guys down! The Ouran HighSchool Host Club _will _be abolished!"

**"All hail Zuka Club!"**

Kyoya narrowed his eyes, "I get it now." Alex had latched back onto Kyoya after she and the rest of the Hosts had changed out of their costumes, leaving them back in their Ouran Uniforms. However, Alex, Mitsukuni, and Haruhi were wearing the Ouran vests and Shirts, while the twins were left in their white button-up with the tie, and Kyoya and Mori were the only ones wearing the actual blazer. Alex childishly stuck her tongue out at them, finding them even more obnoxious than the Host Club.

_They're _the ones trying to take down a club. The Host Club _isn't_.

Kyoya, with a hand around Alex's waist, pushed his glasses up and continued, "I understand your concerns, but do you think we can finish this _later_?"

Benio locked narrow eyes with Kyoya, "Are you saying that you're not going to face us?"

Kyoya shook his head with a smirk, "Not at all." He and the rest of the club, minus Haruhi, had moved over to Tamaki who was sleeping in a bed, "It's just that our president is still initially bed-ridden from the initial culture shock." He was holding a brown rattler for Tamaki, while Mori was holding a baby bottle.

Mitsukuni spoke, holding tightly onto his Usa-Chan, "You see, Tama-Chan is having his nappy-time right now."

"WAKE HIM _UP!_" Benio ordered, irritated.

Hikaru and Kaoru spoke, **"Kids need to sleep to grow, you know?" ****  
**

Alex nodded, "It would very rude to wake him up at such a crucial aging point in his life."

"Are you mocking me!?" Benio demanded.

Haruhi politely intervened, holding up a tray, "Excuse me, I made some coffee. Would you ladies like to have some?"

Benio raised a hand up to her forehead in relief as she exclaimed, "Why, yes! I would love some-aren't you just the sweetest little thing?"

_Well, she **is **Haruhi._ Alex thought as she nodded her head in agreement.

Suzuran commented with a bright smile, "You're a real pearl among swine!"

"You know," Benio began with a charming smile, "Coffee made by a maiden always has a more fragrant aroma."

"Good thing I don't make coffee then," Alex spoke, resting her chin on her arms as she rested her arms on the bed Tamaki was sleeping in, bored. She paused, "Actually, scratch that, I do." There were some guests who preferred it over tea, so whenever she went into the kitchen, she made some. Alex thinks coffee is disgusting, but coffee was coffee nonetheless. The guests never complained about it.

Haruhi laughed a little at the compliment, "This stuff's just instant."

Alex leaned back when Tamaki's eyes opened. Tamaki quickly kicked the covers back as he sat up, listening Hinagiku comment,

"Why don't the four of us have a little tea party? We can even invite the girl over there!"

They didn't even have time to blink before Tamaki had pulled Haruhi away from them and pushed her behind him, an arm out in front of her protectively as he started to lecture, "You guys are under the wrong impression or something! Don't you see that there's no productivity when women make love to each other!? If that's the case, then why did God make Adam and Ever-!" He screamed when Hinagiku appeared behind him and dumped her cup of hot coffee onto his hand.

Mitsukuni quickly ran over and started to blow on his finger as if it would help, commenting while he did so, "It looks scalded! It looks painful!" Tamaki had tears streaming down his face.

Alex screamed in alarm when a pair of arms snaked around her waist and picked up her bridal style, running over to Benio and Hinagiku, Haruhi in a forced embrace with Benio. "Now that we know what is going on, we can't allow these young maidens to stay here! We'll prepare their paperwork and have them transferred to Lobelia at once!"

"W-Wait!" Alex tried to protest, not wanting to leave Ouran, but was ignored as Benio continued,

"And we'll _welcome _them into the _Zuka Club!_"

Every single Hosts' eyes widened.

Some even looked a little pissed.

Some were worried.

And some were alarmed.

Haruhi quickly pushed herself away from Benio saying, "Hey, just wait a second, will ya?" Alex started to struggle in Suzuran's grip, wanting to be put down. The woman complied and the girl stumbled backwards before catching her balance.

"Freedom!" She cheered, before shouting in alarm as paranoia grew and ran to hide behind Haruhi.

"There seems to have been some misunderstanding here," Haruhi spoke, taking hold of the "heroine" role. She laughed and held her hands up, "I mean, first of all, you called Sempai a halfer! Sure, his hair's blonde, but it's probably because he dyed it and his eyes are blue because he wear colored contacts!"

Alex spoke, "Those are natural."

Mitsukuni nodded, "Yeah, Tama-Chan is a halfer!" Tamaki stood behind Mori who stood behind Mitskuni, rubbing the back of his head with a slight blush, "He's half-French and half-Japanese!"

A sweatdrop formed on Haruhi's face as she continued, "Well, uh, I don't think it's fair of you to pick on the Host Club because you don't think they have the same type of history as you!"

"We barely have any history," Hikaru spoke with his hands in his pockets, a smile on his face. Stress lines formed on Haruhi's face as her shoulders slumped, "We were just founded two years ago."

Kaoru nodded, a hand behind his head, "Yeah, the boss founded it when he first started Highschool."

Haruhi gained a sour face as she twirled her finger lifelessly, "However, saying that the Host Club's activities are made just to satisfy their own appetites is just wrong..." She waited for an interruption, and when she didn't get one, she continued, "I mean, it's not like the Host Club's charging their guests or anything."

Kyoya spoke, a page on his laptop opened, "Well, I wouldn't call it a charge, but we _do _have a point system." A depressed aura surrounded Haruhi, "We offer priority services based on teh wining auctions and bids on our internet website. Check this out, Haruhi; Your used mechanical pencil? Just sold for a winning bid of thirty-thousand yen. Good for you." He leaned back and crossed his arms when Haruhi charged towards the laptop and slammed her hands on the table, screaming,

"_WHAT!? _But I though I'd _lost _that pencil!" She turned to glare at the older teen, "Why didn't you tell me about this before, Kyoya-Sempai!? I had no idea that you were collecting money!"

In the background, Alex was trying to tiptoe quietly away.

"_Alex! Get **back**__here_!" Alex shrieked,

"Yes, ma'am!" And ran over to Haruhi and Kyoya.

"Did you _know _about this?"

"W-Well, I knew that they did auctions and stuff, I-I didn't know about your pencil though..." Haruhi's anger at Alex died down a little, and she focused it back on Kyoya.

"Did you think we did all this as volunteers?" Kyoya questioned the Fujioka girl. He pushed up his glasses before crossing his arms once more, "While it's not much because of the expense of organizing events, we happen to make a small profit from online auctions.

"You can't sell other peoples things without permission-_That's STEALING!"_

Hikaru and Kaoru spoke, being the main perpetrators, **"It wasn't stealing, you dropped that pencil on the floor."**

"Along with Alex's cheshire cat key-chain," Kyoya added, pressing a few buttons on his laptop and causing said key-chain to pop up, "It sold for a total of fifteen thousand yen. That boy, Nagihiko, seemed rather excited to get it." Alex's head whirled around to stare at the laptop in shock, looking at the black and blue cat head that was grinning madly at her. It was Tim Burton's version of the Cheshire Cat and she loved that movie, she _loved _that _key-chain_.

Grinding her teeth together she growled, "What the _hell_, Kyoya? What the hell gave _you_ the _right _to sell _my_ key-chain!?" She turned her head to glare at him, deeply aggravated.

He didn't answer, merely looking down at her as his eyes hid behind his glasses.

"_Tell me!" _Her hands turned into fists, shaking at her sides. She remained looking at him, demanding an answer. "Well? Answer me, Kyoya!"

Hikaru quickly cut in, "It was your fault for leaving it lying around in your room."

"That's because I _dropped it _when I went to go eat breakfast that morning you _dumbass_!" She screamed at him, something taking over her. Grounding her teeth together, she growled, "You know what? Screw this, I'm out. Haruhi, can I spend the night at your place?"

"Sure, Alex."

"The poor thing, being fooled all this time!" Suzuran exclaimed, waltzing over to Alex in pity. Hinagiku nodded in agreement,

"Let's just leave these punks and go, right, girls?" She asked Haruhi this as well, cutting into her and Tamaki's "conversation".

Benio spoke, "Hold on, Hinagiku, these young maidens have had quite a day. We'll give you both some time to think about; We'll come back tomorrow for your answers." She placed her hands on both Alex and Haruhi's shoulders before walking, "Well, then, _Adieu_."

_The nerve of those..._Alex couldn't even think of a name, _No-don't be angry, you never get angry. But they-ARGH! _Turning her head at the exact same time as Haruhi, the Host Club looked at the two girls nervously.

"We better get going," Haruhi stated, voice dark, "We've got some _thinking _to do."

"Now that I think about it, an all-girls school _does _sound nice," Alex spoke, giving them all the darkest glare she could muster. "Who knows, maybe I'll even a get a _girl_friend."

She turned her head just in time to miss Kyoya develop a dark aura. He stopped in his taking pictures of them being angry to think, debating on his choices and what action he should take. His first reaction was to call her name and talk to her, but his second was to wait and see how everything would turn out and plan things from there.

For once in his life, no, third time in his life, he was stumped.

The doors closed and Kyoya felt his left foot start to slide forward, urging him to chase after Alex and sort things out, but Tamaki's crying snapped him out of it and caused him to turn his head. Tamaki ran to Kyoya and demanded, "Why did you have to tell them the _truth_!? You just added fuel to the fire and now they're going to be part of the _Zuka _Club!"

"The facts are the facts," Kyoya replied calmly, placing a hand in his pocket and curling it up into a fist that no one else could see. _Alex won't leave. I refuse to let her. I won't let her join Lobelia. _"Don't be an idiot, Tamaki, the chances of them joining Lobelia are slim." _Even though Alex said she might and even though about-_His jaw clenched. No. She was _his_. He wouldn't let her get away so easily. He already knew how she felt about him-what happened in her room at the beach was proof of that. She _kissed _him. He didn't kiss her, _she _kissed _him_.

Alex doesn't lie about her feelings and lead people on for her own gain. No, when it came to such type of feelings, she was honest. Alex wasn't a manipulative person.

"Maybe we should've asked before we sold her pencil and Lexi-Chan's key-chain on the internet," Mitsukuni suggested, frowning childishly.

Kaoru nodded, a hand on his chin thoughtfully, "Yeah, for all we know, the pencil was a keepsake from Haruhi's mother. And the key-chain could be a momento from one of her "Siblings"."

Hikaru looked at his brother and shook his head, "Nah, the pencil was just a freebie from an electronic store, and the key-chain was something that boy Nagihiko gave her."

Tamaki placed a hand against the window, saying as his hair covered most of his face, "Gentlemen, just think about it. Alex may be sarcastic and Haruhi blunt, but if they had to choose, we know that they both tend to favor men's clothing. And besides, when Haruhi first joined the Host Club, didn't she tell us that getting fussed over by a bunch of girls wouldn't be that bad? Not to mention, Alex has already made so many female friends from her time in the Host Club...she even talked about getting a _girlfriend_. With her and Haruhi's looks and personalities, it wouldn't be so hard. Why didn't I realize this before? Perhaps they _would _be a better match for the girls. They'd be better of with...the...Zuka Club."

_**It makes sense! After all, they're the perfect "Girls' School" stereotype! **_

Mitsukuni started to cry, "They're gonna transfer!?"

Kaoru spoke in shock, "Yeah, they're perfect for a girls' school..."

"What are we gonna do!?" Hikaru questioned, alarmed, "The Zuka Club will be able to get Alex into their classes easy!"

"And with Haruhi's brain, passing the Lobelia scholarship test will be a piece of cake! Alex isn't the smartest, but she'll be able to pass easily enough!" Kaoru panicked. He and his brother seemed to have forgotten that Alex was living with them.

Kyoya added, the slightest furrow of his eyebrows tipping off his worry for the girls, "And Lobelia will be able to pay of the eight million yen Haruhi owes us."

"Everyone, calm down!" Tamaki ordered, "It'll be alright! Listen to what I have to say!" He turned from the window to look at them with a smirk, sweat beading down his face in worry as he raised a finger, "I have an idea."

* * *

**May 19, 2014**

It was after classes when the Zuka Club found Haruhi and Alex waiting outside the club room door. Benio and Suzuran looked at the two with a smile,

"Oh, my! Alex, Haruhi!" Suzuran exclaimed, smiling at the two girls.

"We came back just like we promised!" Hinagiku told them, mainly directing it towards Haruhi. Benio looked at the girls with a slight blush on her face, a pleased smile forming.

"You were waiting for us outside the doors on purpose?"

Alex blinked, before stating sarcastically, "Oh, yeah, totally. 'Cause I totally didn't want to leave Haruhi alone."

Haruhi sent Alex a slight look before saying, "No, we were told to go in at the same time as you. To be honest, everyone was acting a little strange this morning."

"Whelp, lets go in!" Alex stated, trying to hide the guilty feeling that was gnawing at her in the chest from when she snapped at Kyoya yesterday. Placing her hands against the neatly made doors, she opened them and stared into a completely black room.

In the darkness, she could make out figures standing as they each sang,

_"Ouran~!" _

_"Ouran~!" _

"Ouran..."

"Ouran~!" Alex froze, recognizing that voice anywhere-however, she didn't expect him to be able to _sing_. Sure, he had the same voice as the dude who play Sebastian Michealis, but, different person, y'know? She didn't expect _Kyoya _to sing.

"_OURAN~!" _The childish loudness in that one was easy to pinpoint as Mitsukuni, which meant that the one before Kyoya was Mori and before him was the twins. Which _meant_-

The lights flashed on, and what laid before them was a scene that would make even the Zuka Club's hearts flutter.

Tamaki sang, clad in white, gold, and red outfit with white and gold peacock feather connected to his back, "Ouran~!" He could sing too.

Mori was dressed in a blue, white, and gold Uniform with a tambourine in his hand. Mitsukuni's ballgown was in many different shades of pink, and he had hair extensions that were pulled back in a tiny pony that was tied in a bow, his hair curled and fluttering down to his elbows. The Hitachiin brothers wore blue and light sea-green colored dresses, with hair extensions that were tied in twin-tails and stopped just below their shoulders, curled madly. The ones who were dressed as girls were wearing _way _too much make up.

And Kyoya...

Alex's breathing hitched. _Okay, either they were trying to be flashing and look like princess and princesses out of a fairytail going by yesterdays theme with the whole "Knights and Princess", or Kyoya did that on purpose. _

His outfit was mainly purpose, with black a secondary color for the trim. He wore a white undershirt with one of those "Poofy" collars that had a bright amethyst gym in the middle of it. Underneath the jacket sleeves, you could see some of the ruffles from the undershirt poking out of it and he held a white-gloved clad hand over his chest with a smile on his face. His hair was slight spiked and pushed to the left, as to give it a more "Royal" feeling.

Alex bit her lip, staring around at everyone as she felt laughter trying to bubble up in her throat.

**"-Host Club welcomes you!" **They finished singing, and Alex heard Kyoya's the clearest. Alex was shocked at first, but now she was doing her best to keep a poker face.

Hikaru smiled at them mischievously, fluttering his eyelashes exaggeratedly, "Oh, Haruhi and Alex darlings, come right on in!" He tried to make his voice soung like a girls, so he sounded like a boy before they hit puberty.

Mitsukuni twirled over, exclaiming, "Look Haru-Chan, Lexi-Chan, I'm a Princess now! Aren't I cute?"

"What the _hell _is the meaning of this!?" Benio demanded, "Are you insulting of our culture!?"

"Insulting?" Tamaki asked, surprised, before giving a smile, "No way. This is all according to my calculations! A secret life and death recipe, that for commoners, would make even an infant stop crying! It's the "Getting two birds with one Stone", the "Freebie Campaign"!" He continued with a smile, making dramtic movements as he spoke, "You all have lived sheltered lives in Lobelia, so you might not know that Commoners are weak."

Alex pouted and pulled a frozen Haruhi into a hug, "How rude."

Everyone seemed to ignore her and she looked around the room, mainly at the dressed-up Hosts, and locked eyes with Kyoya. Something seemed to pass through them, a silent conversation, when he smirked at her.

Alex tensed, feeling her eyes go wide and her face hot. _D-Damn him...Damn rich people. Yeah, let's go with that. Damn rich people. _She swallowed, forcing her gaze away as she looked back at Tamaki who was still talking.

"-distracted by the Zuka Club, _Mais! _But, if you both choose our club, in addition to brothers, you get sisters as an extra!"

Tamaki-Father and Occasional Sister

Kyoya-Mother and Occasional Brother

Mori-Brother

Mitsukuni-Brother and occasional Sister

Hikaru and Kaoru-Brothers but occasional Sisters

Tamaki quickly moved over to Haruhi and Alex, accidentally knocking them both down with his feathers as he tried to show them to them "Haruhi, Alex, aren't these pretty!? They're made with _real _feathers!" He blinked in confusion when they vanished, "Huh? Haruhi, Alex?" He turned and watched them get knocked down again, "Haruhi! Alex!" He quickly ripped the feathers off and slammed them angrily into the ground, "DAMN YOU TAIL FEATHERS! HOW DARE YOU MAKE MY PRECIOUS DAUGHTERS FALL DOWN!?"

Hikaru and Kaoru quickly strolled up in their dresses, **"We're the Hitachiin sisters! Which one of us is prettier?" **

"I'm just teasing you," Hikaru whispered to them in his girl voice. Kaoru tried to giggle, and Alex was finding it even more difficult to not laugh.

"Listen, Haru-Chan! Lexi-Chan! You two can call me "Big Sis" from now on, okay?" He whispered to them.

Mori and Kyoya walked over, Mori smiling as he played the tambourine. Kyoya walked over with his arms crossed, telling Haruhi as he looked down at her, "I don't really care if you do, but do remember to call me "Big Brother" from this point on. Understand?"

Haruhi didn't speak, still frozen as she stared at the Host Club. Alex quickly frowned in confusion,

"Wait, what am I supposed to call you?" A smirk crossed his face and he quickly wrapped an arm around Alex's waist, pulling her to him as he lifted her chin up with his other hand, leaning close and whispering in her ear,

"_Do you really want to find out?_"

She froze and her face, if possible, seemed to become a volcanic red. Stuttering profusely, she couldn't even speak, her eyes diverting to look everywhere _but _at Kyoya.

Benio took sight of the scene and snapped, "Why, you..._idiots_! Do you really think you can win either of them over like this!? Cheap tactics like that," She glared pointedly at Kyoya, who merely stared at her with a slight smirk, "or _otherwise_!?" She shifted her glare to the rest of the club. "I've had enough of your fooling around!"

Alex couldn't take it anymore when Haruhi started to laugh. The urge was too much. Pushing herself away from Kyoya, she landed on her back, _snorting _a couple of times before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

The two were laughing so hard they couldn't breathe-they couldn't _talk_.

"I-I don't even get what you're-what you're trying to _do! _I-I knew you were-a bunch of-goofballs-but _jeez!" _

"Call-Call Nine-One-One! I-I can't_-!" _Alex tried to stop laughing, she did, but it was practically impossible.

Especially when the twins and Mitsukuni stuck their faces in her and Haruhi's, asking, **"Are we really that funny? Come on, call us "Big sister"! Say it, please! SAY IT! BIG SISTER!"**

"Never!"

"Come on-Cut it out!" The three finally stopped and Alex and Haruhi were finally able to stop laughing.

"What the-What the hell is wrong with you guys?"

"Yeah, why'd you do this?"

Hikaru spoke, placing his hands behind his head as he looked away admitting, "We did this because we didn't want you guys to leave the Host Club."

"You _do _realize I live with you and Kaoru, right?" Alex deadpanned, before breaking out into a highly amused grin. The two froze, seeming to have forgotten that fact.

Haruhi smiled, causing Benio to frown and ask, "Maidens, have you-"

"Yeah, I have." Haruhi spoke, nodding as she stood and brushed her pants off, "Ah, my stomach hurts now..." She laughed a little again before saying, "Sorry, but your club's not for me. I think the idea of a Girls' School is great, and your view are very unique and interesting. But I came to this school with a goal and a plan for my future. So while I appreciate your offer, I really already knew that I was never gonna leave Ouran Academy." She smiled at them kindly.

They then looked at Alex and she shrugged, "Eh, All my friends are here. What's the point of switching schools if they don't go with me?"

Tears formed in many of the Hosts' eyes, but Mitsukuni and the twins were the only ones who tackled Alex, "L-Lexi-Chan!"

"Haruhi, Alex!" Tamaki cheered, tears streaming down his face. Mori jingled the tambourine while Kyoya gained a glint in his eyes. "Wait a minute...If you both didn't have any thoughts about leaving, why did you both go home early yesterday and act so mad!?"

**"Yeah, and why did you spend the night at Haruhi's place?" **The twins demanded, sending Alex some looks.

She shrugged and Haruhi was the one to answer, snapping, "How would _you _feel if someone stole something of yours and sold it without your permission!? I really liked that mechanical pencil-it was easy to write with! Besides," She calmed down, "The supermarket had a special "One Day Only" sale and Alex asked if she could come with me.

"_WHAT!?_ That's it!?" Tamaki couldn't believe it. Kyoya spoke next, addressing Alex this time.

"Why did you talk about going to Lobelia like you were actually thinking about it, then? And getting a _girl_friend?" Alex looked up at him in surprise, and took note of how his features seemed to be tense, as if holding back from doing something...

"Huh, oh, I was mad. Which surprised me since I usually don't get "mad". I usually just get annoyed or something." She rambled slightly before shaking her head, "Eh, I really liked that key-chain though. It was Tim Burton's _Alice in Wonderland_ Cheshire Cat. Nagihiko got it for me one day after saying he knew how much I liked Tim Burton's movies. He's cool." She shrugged again, acting rather nonchalant about the whole situation.

"Benio?" Suzuran asked hesitantly, unsure. The woman nodded.

"Yes, I know..." She turned to Alex and Kyoya, who was slowly gaining a dark and scary aura, and Haruhi and Tamaki, who was complaining, "I'm now going to give up on you maidens. I sweat this to you...Someday we'll come and rescue you both from this place! And when we do, we'll _abolish _the Ouran Host Club!"

Alex commented bluntly, unimpressed, "Yeah, good luck with that. Kyoya's family has a private police force of one hundred Officers. Not to mention that twins pranks they pull on people. You'll have to get through all of them first."

Benio smiled at her, "I can't wait, my maiden. Well then, _adieu_." They watched as they twirled down the hallway laughing, only to see them all slip on banana peels.

Alex took a step closer to Kyoya, narrowing her eyes, "We meet again..._Banana Peel Monkey._" The Monkey stopped what it was doing and turned, locking eyes with Alex. Slowly, it took a bite of another banana. Giving it a dark look, Alex screamed and charged towards it, raising her right fist up in the air as the Monkey let out a war cry.

Alex was almost there when the Monkey let out a laugh, and she barely had time to look down before she had stepped on the banana peel and was sent flying forwards, crashing roughly against the ground.

...

"_Ow-! _...I hate disinfectants." She grumbled childishly, Kyoya treated her arm that she had cut on a pencil she landed on. It was surprisingly a rather deep gash, as she had landed on it, _then _rolled multiple times in the floor while it was lodged into her arm. She has the _greatest _of luck, doesn't she? "Ow!"

"Stop moving and it won't hurt as much." He ordered, reaching out to grab some first-aid tape from the kit. Alex was currently sitting on the counter, and Kyoya was leaning down and treating her wounds as usual. "This is why you shouldn't pick fights with Renge's monkey."

"But it's not my fault it has something against me! It's always the reason why I'm tripping! It keeps throwing Banana peels everywhere and its always _me _who steps on them!"

"Tamaki trips on them too."

"Well, yeah, but-" She pouted childishly, giving up on the argument with Kyoya. She watched him finish wrapping the bandage tape around her arm and stand up, moving to leave the room. His shoulders were still tense, holding back from doing something. Alex didn't know what, and she hesitated uncertainly before saying, "Wait!" Kyoya stopped, just at the kitchen door, "I-Uh, I'm sorry...for yelling at you... I'm sorry. I-I really am, so...Uh, yeah." She swallowed and turned to look at the wall, coughing slightly before looking back at Kyoya and diverting her gaze again.

Slowly turning around, Kyoya placed the first-aid kit on the table before swiftly moving back over to Alex, causing the girl watch him in confusion. She quickly gripped her injured left arm gently and leaned back in surprise when he placed his hands on either side of her on the counter, trapping her.

"Do you really want to be forgiven?" He asked her, acting completely different than he did when he was still in his "Brother" outfit and everyone else were "Sisters". Alex then understood why; When Kyoya wants a certain reaction out of her, he does something that's completely out of character, but when he _doesn't _he's himself. This is when he's being himself. This was a face that very few people, possibly only Alex, have seen.

"I-I...Yeah..." If she didn't want to be forgiven, then why does he think she apologized? At the close distance, Alex felt her lips feel dry and she licked them, feeling something bubble in her stomach. It was an urge, she understood that, but what was it for? It was then that she realized she was staring at Kyoya's lips and realized she wanted to kiss him. She quickly diverted her gaze as he pulled away. _Damn it, what am I doing? Bad Alex-Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad! Bad thoughts! _She really hated herself sometimes. Slowly, she turned her gaze back to Kyoya and watched him pull of his glasses, setting them on the table before moving back towards her.

_What's he doing? _

"If that's the case..." He trapped her again and Alex tensed, expecting something but not sure of what it was she was expecting. She kind of figured he might try to kiss her again, or just whack her upside the head with his book like he normally does. He leaned closer and Alex felt the _good _chills run down her spine when they locked eyes.

_They were such a lovely color,_ She had to admit.

He moved in and whispered in her ear, "Don't ever do that to me again." And pulled back, before leaning forward and capturing her lips with his, claiming them. Alex's eyes went wide before they quickly closed, giving in and attempting to kiss him back. She felt one of his hands cup her cheek and another rest on her shoulder. Her hands slowly reached up before resting behind his head, her hands tangling themselves in his hair. His _soft _hair.

Alex loved Kyoya. She loved him and all his evil Shadow King-ly-ness. His bi-polar-ness with emotions, his oddly sweet side that rarely showed, and despite how it bugged her that he bottled his emotions in, she loved that part of him too. It was what made him _him_. It was what made him _Kyoya_.

And he made her feel safe, loved, cared for. She knew as long as she was with him she would be happy, as long as _he _was happy she'd be happy.

She didn't want to leave him. That was a choice she could never make. She wouldn't leave Ouran Academy and switch schools unless he came with her.

Kyoya finally pulled away, a hint of a smile on his face. Alex's face was a bright red, both from kissing Kyoya and breathlessness.

"Y-You confuse me...so freaking much." She gasped, trying to calm herself and poor frantic heart, slightly dazed. Are they together? Are they couple? What _were _they? "I-I don't get-Why?" She paused to catch her breathe the rest of the way and look at Kyoya, "Are we together or-or-what _are _we? I'm confused. You kiss me then you act like nothing happened and then you kiss me again and tell me you won't let anyone have me and acts like nothing happened and _then _you kiss me again-I'm so confused."

He looked at her, glasses still removed, and asked as he brushed his bangs out of his face, "What do you want to be?"

The blush on her face darkened and Kyoya looked at her in amusement, before reaching into his blazer and pulling out something.

"I'm teasing. Here, I got this in replacement of that key-chain. I noticed you favor stuffed animals." He moved back over and placed something soft and fuzzy in her hands. "And, I don't really care for sweets as I have stated previously, if you want we can go for icecream again this weekend. Entirely up to you, however."

Alex stared in shock at the stuffed black-and-blue Cheshire Cat that lay in her arms, a mad grin on its face. It...was...so..._cute! _Alex jumped up off the counted and tackled a surprised Kyoya in a hug, "Yes! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best!" His hidden sweet side was showing again. Pulling away slightly, but enough so that she was still holding onto him, she looked up at him with a warm smile, "Thank you Kyoya, I'd love that. And the kitten's so adorable!" She reverted back to her childish side again, hugging the cat before hugging Kyoya tightly again.

Uncertainly, Kyoya wrapped an arm around Alex's waist, "Your welcome...," and one around her back. He was getting better, but he still had some issues with people contact.

Thinking it in her head first, before whispering softly enough that he couldn't hear, "I love you..."

If Kyoya _had _been able to hear it, who knew how he would've reacted.


	20. Big Brother is a Prince

**Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting.**

**May 21, 2014**

Since the whole "confession" thing on the 18th after the Lobelia incident, Kyoya started to do subtle and not-so subtle things around her at the strangest of times. He even started to glare at the twins more often-and started to appear around her when she was trying to entertain her guests-_specifically the male ones_.

Here's this incident for example; lunch that very morning.

Alex had sat down next to Kyoya, Kaoru on her left with him on her right, Hikaru next to Kaoru, and ending at Tamaki who was at the opposite end of the table next to Kyoya. She had calmly pulled out a bento that Haruhi had helped her make, as the brunette was trying to teach Alex to cook during the weekends and on the days Alex spent the night, and opened it. It had white rice, a plain cheese omelet, with some tomatoes and, due to her original American nationality, mini hotdogs cut into octopus shapes out of boredom. She even had chopsticks because she wanted to eat like a "Japanese person".

Luckily she still had enough of Akari's memories to let her hold and eat with them correctly.

Kaoru was the first to question, calm and curious, "Was that homemade or did you have Haruhi make it for you?" Everyone looked interested at this point, and the girl shrugged.

"She helped me make it this morning; she's trying to teach me how to cook. Kinda why I've been staying at her place a lot." She grinned, "I'm kinda looking forward to eating it, since it's the first time I really cooked anything like this. It's probably not that good, though..." To prove her point, she cut off a piece of her omelet and picked it up with her chopsticks, raising it up to her mouth to eat it-only to blink when she found it gone.

Kyoya chewed for a few seconds, before commenting nonchalantly as he typed away on his laptop, "It's not that bad. You should give yourself some credit." Her face had turned a dark red, realizing that he had just leaned over and bit it off of her chopsticks.

Tamaki, of course, stood up and slammed his hands on the table, ranting away at Kyoya for "trying to taint his precious daughter with indirect kisses" and "stay away from her". Alex decided it was best not to mention that Kyoya had already tainted her with real-Her face turned a slightly darker shade of red-kisses.

Kyoya tried not to smirk, as he knew what the brunette was thinking about.

Kaoru, however, decided to be the nice one and asked curiously, a warm smile on his face as he looked down at Alex, "Is it alright if I try a piece? It doesn't have to be big." She pouted childishly, having wanted to be the first to try it, and sighed. "Fine..." He reached over and cut a piece of the omelet off with his fork, before sticking it in his mouth and chewing slowly.

A smile spread on his face and he swallowed, "This is really good, Alex. I'd have to say you're a natural."

She looked down, slightly embarrassed, "Th-Thanks..."

"What made you decide to learn how to cook?" Hikaru asked curiously, causing Alex to look up in surprise. She paused, not sure how to answer the question. Haruhi asked her the same thing.

A face popped in her head and she turned bright red.

**"Who are you thinking about?" **She squeaked, stuffing a hotdog in her mouth as she spoke quickly,

"Nothing! N-None of your business!" Kyoya's glasses flashed, the corner of his lips twitching up in amusement.

"Hey, I got an idea! How about we go visit Haruhi at her house this weekend! Alex can lead the way!"

"Uh, no. You can go, I'm not. I don't feel like getting glared at." Alex stated bluntly, Haruhi's blunt personality rubbing off on her.

Which is kinda why they were now dressed as policemen, as a policewoman, and why Alex had been trying to kill the twins earlier.

"What the hell is with this outfit! Why am I dressed as the naughty policewoman when you're all normal!?" Hikaru and Kaoru laughed as they moved over and rested their arms on her shoulders, their free hands on their hips.

"Didn't you know?"

"We figured all the guys would like to see you in it!"

"Hikaru...Kaoru..." They froze, realizing that they released her dark side again. A twisted grin formed on her lips as she said sweetly, cocking her head at them in an innocent fashion, "Do you wish to die?"

They both raised their hands up in a mock surrender fashion, but were both utterly terrified. Alex was pretty damn scary when she wanted to be, and her glare was almost on par with Kyoya and Mitsukuni's when they wake the two of them up in the morning before ten o'clock. Alex didn't like to be woken up either, but she didn't glare at them. She just refused to get out of bed and moaned and groaned and tried to bury herself underneath her blankets.

But when you made her angry...

It was actually much easier to make her angry now, than it was for the first few months. Having to deal with the Host Club and, we can't forget, bad experiences can change you.

Not to mention she's with Kyoya on a daily basis, and if you knew him well and pressed the _right _buttons, he's bound to rub off on her.

**"Please don't kill us!" **They begged, backing up and running to hide behind one of the couches. Two female guests that sat on said couch giggled, commenting,

"You really are like siblings, aren't you?" Girl number 1 asked with a smile. Girl number 2 said in a kind voice,

"You three are so sweet. Is Alex really a Hitachiin?" Alex's dark eyes vanished and appeared to become replaced with confusion. Girl number 3, who sat next to Girl number 2, frowned as she observed Alex.

She seemed...dark...as she glared at the brothers. It was probably nothing, but it was certainly different than the sarcastic, kind, and funny Alex that everyone had come to know.

Hikaru grinned, standing up and slinging an arm around his brother's shoulder, Kaoru doing the same. "We consider her one," Hikaru told the girl with a smirk, causing her to blush lightly.

Kaoru added with a smile, "We've been trying to get her adopted since last month," Alex whirled her head around and stared at them in surprise, "But the decision is really up to our parents."

Alex asked in surprise, tugging her miniskirt down a little from not wearing skirts often, "Wait, what? Seriously?" They grinned at her.

**"Yeah. You have to meet mother first, though, before she comes up with her final decision." **

"O-Oh...I didn't know that..." Made her wonder when she would actually _meet _Yuzuha Hitachiin. "Any idea when?"

Kaoru was the one who answered, "Sometime tomorrow, actually."

Hikaru then answered, a slight bitter tone to his voice, "Unless something with works pops up."

"Well, okay then." She then remembered her guests and practically _jumped_, startled at the realization. "Gah!" She exclaimed, before stumbling in her highheels as she tried to run to her guests that were waiting patiently for her.

Kyoya watched her out of the corner of his eyes and had to admit that her clumsiness and inability to walk properly in highheels was actually rather _cute_. However, he still wasn't a fan of having to watch Alex flirt with other guys, but it was her job as a Hostess. Besides, Alex was faithful and was honest with her true feelings. She wouldn't cheat on him.

Then again, the two weren't _actually _together, as he had never officially asked her to be his girlfriend. He wanted to, though, but it wasn't the right time.

That, and she was adorable when she was confused. Kyoya didn't feel like ruining his fun just yet. He wanted to tease Alex for as long as he could. He loved her reactions-his favorite one however had to be when she was washing dishes and he "offered" to help her.

Grinning at the boys, her regular guests Nagihiko and Daichi, along with a newcomer named Riku, she took the whip she had on her belt and stretched it out. "So, cause any trouble recently?" It was a simple, innocent question, but the whip she was holding caused dark blushes to spread across their faces as they stared at her.

Daichi, despite being the brave boy he was could still feel his heart racing, and stammered, "N-No, of-of course not, Alex! But, I-I did notice that you look really good with wavy hair." Alex looked surprised, slightly taken-aback by the sudden compliment.

She will never understand why he keeps complimenting her, despite how ugly she knew she was with her "beauty" mark. "Oh, uh, th-thanks..." He grinned, seeing her slightly flustered appearance. She looked good, she really did, and was actually rather tempting. But, he didn't want an angry Shadow King after him, nor did he want a repeat of the Christmas Dance. "Anyway-" Alex sat down and pressed her legs together, uncomfortable with her current attire. "I hear about the incident with Lobelia Academy. I'm glad you decided to stay at Ouran, Alexis."

Alex didn't really like that nickname, as it was more girly than what she would prefer, but a Hostess was a Hostess, and she had to do her job and keep the guests happy. She smiled at him, "Yeah, I'm glad I stayed too." A face flashed through her mind and for a brief moment, her eyes darted over to where Kyoya was standing. He was wearing the standard police uniform, however it was black with short sleeves compared to everyone else's bright blue and baby blues ones. Kyoya and Mori wore black, Tamaki wore a "princely" white one, Hikaru and Kaoru wore bright blue ones with long sleeves, and Haruhi and Mitsukuni wore baby blue shirts and navy blue pants.

_Nope. Not thinking about it. No. Not happening. No, no, no, no, no! Gah! Jerk. _Alex was _not _thinking about how good Kyoya looked in his police costume. Nope. No she wasn't. She swears that he's doing this just to spite her, sometimes, even _if _the police-them was the twins' ideas and Tamaki agreed to it.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Tamaki called for everyone to get into their positions, the sounds of the door beginning to open. She quickly stood up and ran over, stumbling in her heels, and ran to her spot next to Haruhi and in front of Kyoya. She quickly pulled out a green rose and struck her pose, placing a hand on her hip while reaching out with her arm as though to offer the rose to the newcomer.

Alex ignored the pity she felt for the person at the awaiting end of the rose petals, and greeted in unison with a smile.

**"Welcome!"**

To her surprise, the guest was a little girl with blonde pigtails and big blue eyes. Tamaki was the one to comment, a hand on his hip.

"Oh, my. What an unusually young guests. Well, glad you're here," He extended a hand and gave a charming smile, "my little lost kitty cat." The girl entered the room and stopped right in front of Tamaki, blinking up at him with a look of awe and disbelief on her face. He leaned over and smiled at her, asking nicely, "Little kitty cat, why have you come to see us today?"

The little girl looked at the hosts, observing them closely before a blush appeared on her face. Alex opened her mouth to make a comment, when the little girl pointed at them and declared, "It's a reverse harem!"

Everyone froze as a cold wind blew into the room.

"This is a reverse harem!"

Tamaki was the first to snap out of it, hitting himself lightly on the side of the head as if to get water out of his ears, a nervous smile on his face. "That can't be right; I must've heard wrong. There must still be some water in my ears from when I went swimming."

Alex took a step back, nearly jumping in shock when her back pressed against Kyoya's chest, and looked up at he placed his hands on her shoulders, asking, "She-She didn't say what I think she did, did she?"

He had a frown on his face, his eyes hidden behind his glasses until he looked down at the brunette, and said, "It appears to be so."

Hikaru and Kaoru laughed in agreement, sticking their fingers in their ears.

"Water in the ears-that's gotta be it!"

"That must be what's wrong! There's no way this cute little girl could have said "reverse harem"! Something's going on with our ears."

The little blonde girl raised a finger and stated, "There's debauchery here."

Another cold wind blew into the room.

The girl seemed ecstatic as she jumped up and down cheering. "There's debauchery here, isn't there!?" She then started to list off the anime types, starting with Alex. "You're the dojikko!" She turned to Kyoya, "You're the glasses character, you're the boy-lolita and the stoic type," She had pointed to Mitsukuni and Mori, and moved on to a pair of very horrified twin brothers. "_Twincest! _And the book worm!" Haruhi froze, highly offended. She then turned to Tamaki, who took on a fatal position in fear. The girl's eyes widened, taking in the blonde hair and blue eyes. Tears formed in her eyes quickly, and she whispered, "Big...brother?" Suddenly Tamaki found himself holding a blonde girl who had tackled him by the waste, "My brother's blonde; you must be him!"

Hikaru exclaimed, slightly irritated, "You never told us about this!"

His brother moved over and demanded, "Since when did you have a little sister?" Tamaki looked alarmed.

"I don't! I'm definitely an only child-at least as far as I know!" Mitsukuni had pink flowers blooming around him.

"The more that I look at you two, the more you guys _do _look a like! You are both blonde after all, with blue eyes!"

Alex and Haruhi eyed Kyoya questionably as he held a hand up to his chin, muttering, "I want to know if "glasses character" is superior to "big brother"?" Alex couldn't help but laugh lightly at that, shaking her head at him. God, she loved that jerk. She kinda wished he had heard her when she told him she loved him the other day... But, then again, it was probably for the best.

"Does it really matter?" Haruhi asked irritably, a dark aura surrounding her. "I can't believe she called me a bookworm..."

Alex grinned at her, "Hey, at least you weren't called a "dojikko"! I don't even trip that often!" She gained multiple looks from that, and she made a noise of confusion. "What?"

Kyoya looked at her and opened up his black book, saying, "Need I list off all medical treatments and injuries you had received these past few months you've been attending Ouran Academy, Alex?" Her face turned slightly red and stammered,

"I-I don't get hurt _that _often...! Jeez..." She huffed and crossed her arms, refusing to look at him. Of course _he _would know whenever she got hurt-_he's always the one _patching her back up again!

Tamaki appeared tense as he awkwardly held the blonde girl in his arms. "Um, excuse me... You want to tell me your name, little one?"

"Kirimi!" Alex noticed Haruhi's face and laughed loudly.

"She's not a fish!" Haruhi blinked and made a face as she realized her mistake. The little girl was _not _some type of fish fillet in human form. She watched as Tamaki placed the girl down on her feet and knelt down in front of her.

"Ah, Kirimi-Chan, I'm afraid you made some sort of mistake. I'm really sorry, but I don't _have _a younger sister."

Both Tamaki and Alex had their heartstrings pulled when the little girl started to cry. Kirimi whimpered, "A-Are you sure...? You're-You're blonde just like me..."

_Resist, resist, resist, resist! _Tamaki and Alex both thought, the brunette taking a step back and running to hide behind Kyoya, grabbing onto his police uniform. He craned his neck to lock at her with a confused frown, but didn't complain. Tamaki, however, was much more weak-willed than this story's main first heroine, and gave in as tears welled up in his eyes.

"W-Well, that is true...Not to mention that we do have blue eyes, as well..." They _could _be siblings. Tamaki had a sensitive soul, and soon was hugging Kirimi tightly before laughing and spinning her around the room, her giggling along with him. "I give in! As of this moment, I am your _new _big brother!"

Alex spoke up quietly, asking Kyoya, "Is...Is she done crying yet?"

"Yes, why?" The brunette relaxed instantly, pressing her face against Kyoya's back as she cried out.

"I can't stand it! Every time a little kid starts to cry I feel so bad and just want to hug 'em and-and-gah! They're just so _cute!" _She pulled away and squealed, pressing her hands against her face. Alex loved little kids, at least when they weren't being a bunch of brats and complaining when they didn't get what they want. Kyoya looked at her with slightly surprised eyes, and pushed his glasses up and crossed his arms.

"You like kids?" He questioned, though he knew he probably shouldn't be so surprised. This was Alex, after all. The _enigma _of his love life. _What is this woman doing to me? _He thought, resisting the urge to shake his head at how he actually _had _a love life. Love, was the one feeling he thought he'd never experience. But, now that he has it, he refused to let the person who caused it go, and would keep that person at all costs. Possessive, yes, greedy? Maybe a little.

She seemed to realize what she was doing a froze, acting very like Tamaki in that instant. However, she quickly grew embarrassed and stuttered profusely, her face a cherry red. "Y-Y-Yeah...A-A little..." He raised an eyebrow, and deduced that a "little" meant a "lot" and figured that she'd want kids someday... Kyoya ignored that slight fluttery feeling in his chest and stomach that showed he liked that thought, and commented.

"Interesting."

Haruhi moved away from Alex and Kyoya's conversation, trying to figure out why those two were acting much more..._comfortable _around each other than the constant sexual tension that was around before, and told Tamaki dryly, "I know you get carried away by your emotions a lot, Sempai," Alex did the same thing some times, despite being more rational and logical than Tamaki, "but you can't just go around making such empty promises."

"Don't you listen to that mean 'ol Haruhi! I'm not irresponsible!" Kirimi laughed loudly as Tamaki ran around the room spinning her and throwing her in the air and catching her. Alex tensed a few times, feeling as thought Tamaki was going to drop her and was ready to run to catch her if that happened.

It was the same thing when...Alex tried to remember...her _cat_ had kittens and every time one of them mewed, she'd freak out and check to see if they were okay.

"Come home with me and I'll look after you!"

Haruhi sighed and moved back over to Alex and Kyoya, questioning the duo, "What do you guys think we should do?" It had became a known fact that Alex and Kyoya were working together, rather than Kyoya managing the Host Club all by himself. Rather than just asking Kyoya for advice, they'd ask Alex as well if she was with him-which she usually was. If you wanted to find one, look for the other.

Alex spoke, resisting the urge to hold Kyoya's hand as she stood close to him, and said as she rocked back-and-forth on her heels, "Well...I say we should figure out her last name."

Kyoya nodded in agreement. "The first thing we should do is figure out if she actually _has _a brother and if he does go to this school." Tamaki froze and knelt down, hugging Kirimi to him protectively. The lights suddenly turned off and Alex jumped, squeaked, and stumbled backwards from surprise. Kyoya, taking advantage of the darkness, reached over and caught her by her hand, wrapping his fingers around hers. He pulled her to her feet and closer to him.

"_Kirimi..._" A deep voice called out, sending chills down their spines. "_Kirimi..." _The lights turned back on and Kyoya released Alex's hand before anyone could see, causing a small feeling of disappoint to flicker in her. However, until Tamaki realized he liked Haruhi, they wouldn't do anything that would alert the others of their relationship.

They weren't _together_, but they weren't exactly just _friends_, either. More...friends-with-benefits...if you need a title. A boy with wavy blonde hair and eyes the same color as Kirimi's poked his head in through the Black Magic Club door. He was handsome, and looked highly familiar. Alex grinned widely while everyone else look on in confusion.

"Nekozawa!" He turned to look at Alex in confusion, before smiling in greeting, still hiding behind the dark door. Everyone turned to look at Alex in shock, not sure if they heard her correctly. "Hey, hi!" She waved.

**"Hey, uh...you sure that's Nekozawa-Sempai?" **

Alex turned to look at the twins in confusion. "Uh, yeah...You don't recognize him? Same voice and face..."

They gave her sour looks-well, Hikaru did, Kaoru just frowned. Mitsukuni grinned.

"I remember now! The foreigner really _is _him! We saw him at the beach once, without his cloak and wig, remember!?"

Nekozawa approached his sister, smiling happily. "Oh, Kirimi..." He looked at her, about to step into the light when a two voices spoke.

"Young Master..."

"You forgot your cloak."

Just as his foot touched the light colored marble, he was suddenly dressed in a dark wig with black robes. _Now _everyone else recognized him.

**"Nekozawa-Sempai!?"** The twins, Haruhi, and Tamaki all exclaimed in shock.

"I _told _you!" Alex huffed, crossing her arms.

"Too much light means death for Master Umehito," The maid in the dark purple and white uniform spoke. The bald butler with the scar spoke next.

"And our little Princess _still _hates the dark." The woman continued, pressing her hands against her face as she spoke dramatically as though something tragic had just happened.

"Which is why they are called "Romeo and Juliet" of the Nekozawa family!"

Haruhi deadpanned, "Romeo and Juliet aren't siblings. I'm also fairly certain that their situation is quite different." The maid bowed dramatically.

"I know, but when I thought of the phrase I just _had _to use it! It was too catchy not too! I had hoped it would make it sound much more dramatic!"

The butler bowed to Tamaki, talking to Kirimi who was in the blonde man's arms. "Incidentally, we are charged with taking Miss Kirimi home. We looked everywhere for you, miss."

Alex couldn't help but think that this was seeming _very _familiar... She gathered it must have been another episode/chapter happening. She appeared to have zoned out long enough for the maid to give the lecture about the Nekozawa family being descendants from the Russian "Tokarev" dynasty.

"-every several hundred years, someone like Master Umehito, one who is _charmed _and taken by the darkness, shall be born. That legend may or may _not _be true."

**"Is it, or isn't it?" **The twins demanded. Nekozawa tried to approach Kirimi, but had to back up when she suddenly started bawling and crying at the sight of him. Alex winced. _Poor guy... _

The butler started to explain, "Due to his physical condition, Master Umehito is unable to approach his sister without his dark attire. But, on the other hand, Mistress Kirimi, who is terrified of the darkness, has only known her brother by the princely portraits she's seen of him around the mansion. Ever since she has learned of her brother coming to this school, she has been searching for him since. The thing is, though I have been assuaging her fears with tales of princes..."

The maid cut in with an embarrassed look on her face, "I eventually ran out of fairytails and had to read her shoujo manga! I'm afraid I got her terribly addicted to them!"

Alex about exploded. "Who the heck," She kept track of her cursing because of a child being the room, "reads a _kid _Shoujo Manga!? Haven't you ever heard of improvising?"

"Oh, I tried, but I'm afraid I was just not any good at it..."

The twins had to agree with Alex, glaring at the woman. **"SO IT WAS YOU! What kind of maid are you!?" **

"So Kirimi is afraid of Nekozawa, because he's all dark and scary, and he can't approach without making her cry." Alex stated out loud, trying to get all the facts straight.

Nekozawa likes dark places.

Kirimi likes light places.

Nekozawa hates light places.

Kirimi hates dark places.

Kirimi is scared of Nekozawa.

Nekozawa loves his little sister.

Kirimi cries every time she sees him approach.

"I can't figure out how to make a situation where they don't freak out at each other!" Alex yelled, scratching furiously at her head and messing her hair up as she knocked the hat off.

Hikaru and Kaoru proceeded to try and strip Nekozawa of his clothes, him screaming, "_MURDEEEEERS!"_

Mitsukuni then tried to close the curtains, to darken the room, but Kirimi ended up crying and screaming, "I hate the dark, _waaah!_ Big brother save me!"

Kyoya commented, "By the way, someone's unhappy."

"Why are you two so different!?" Tamaki and Kyoya were opposites but they get along just fine! "Gah! I got a headache!"

"Wait a minute..." Haruhi seemed to have come to a conclusion as she turned to look at Nekozawa. "So Sashimi-Chan-"

**"Not "Sashimi"!" **The twins interrupted, while Nekozawa corrected her.

"It's Kirimi."

Haruhi continued, "She doesn't know you're her real older brother?"

Beelzenef looked distraught. Nekozawa soon went into a dark corner and cried.

The maid spoke, "We've spoken to her, but she refuses to believe us." Alex quickly moved over and patted Nekozawa awkwardly on the back, trying to comfort the poor boy.

Mitsukuni wiped the tears out of his eyes with his palms, "That's so sad! No wonder Neko-Chan is so upset..."

"It's painful," Nekozawa agreed, somehow managing to set up a dark altar within seconds. "Which is why I offered prayers, in hope that one day, that Kirimi will come to embrace...the _darkness..._" **(A.N: Anyone else loves Nekozawa's voice? XD) **

Hikaru and Kaoru spoke, eyeing the man strangely, **"I think you've got it backwards, buddy." **They told him.

"You should try to get accustomed to the light." Hikaru suggested, while Kaoru questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you trying to do to your sister?"

The maid and the butler stepped forward, the butler speaking. "Come along, Mistress Kirimi."

The maid smiled. "It's time to go home." Kirimi burst out crying, whining and complaining.

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO GO WITH YOU; I WANNA STAY HERE WITH MY BIG BROTHER!" Alex unplugged her ears once the girl was done. She turned her head and her eyes widened at the look on Nekozawa's face.

His blue eyes were wide, glistening with unshed tears, and a pained look that resembled one of betrayal on his face. His shoulders were tense, and he appeared to be fighting back a sob. She could tell that he really loved his sister, and it hurt him to hear her say that she preferred Tamaki over him. His mouth opened and closed, grounding his teeth together to bite back a choked sob, and turned around and started to walk away.

Tamaki called after him, "Nekozawa-Sempai!?"

Nekozawa's voice was deeper than usual, thick and laced with pain, as he spoke. "It's okay...Don't worry about me, Suoh. All I want is for my-my sister to be _happy_. Just, please...make sure...make sure she gets the love she deserves!" He cried out and ran, making sure not to trip on his cloak, as the tears started to unwillingly fall down his face.

_Poor Nekozawa... _Alex thought, watching sadly as he ran. No person with siblings deserved that kind of treatment.

"Wait, Nekozawa-Sempai!" Tamaki shouted, but the doors to the hallway had already slammed shut.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up, saying, "Sibling relations are a source of problems in any family. However...Come to think of it," He began, causing everyone to look at him, "Nekozawa-Sempai did always take an interest in Tamaki for some reason..." He looked at the blonde thoughtfully, piecing all the pieces together. "Maybe it was because you were the ideal "brother" that Kirimi always wanted and idolizes you for that?"

Tamaki's eyes widened. He then shifted Kirimi to where he was holding her up with one arm-it was a wonder how he didn't drop her-and snapped his fingers with his free hand. "Mori-Sempai! Secure Nekozawa-Sempai!" Mori nodded and took off, slamming the doors open and causing Nekozawa to scream as he looked behind him.

Nekozawa quickened his pace, but was no match for the six foot tall Takashi Morinozuka.

"Hikaru, Kaoru; darken the room as much as possible!"

They saluted and started to mess with the curtains.

"Honey-Sempai, get the indirect lighting and some candles!"

The blonde grabbed a lamp and took off.

"Kyoya, cancel all all customer engagements!"

Kyoya pulled out his phone as he looked at the numbers in his book.

"Haruhi, Alex..." He turned to them and walked towards the girls, before handing Kirimi to them. "Look after Kirimi."

"Wait, what?"

"Huh?"

Kirimi complained, tearing up, "Big brother-!" Tamaki cut her off and spoke with a gentle smile.

"I'm sorry, Kirimi, but I'm not the older brother you're looking for...And I promise, the one you are looking for is even more handsome and princely than I am!" Nekozawa, trapped in Mori's embrace, looked at Tamaki in shock with wide, blue, teary eyes. "What I mean is, I'm not you're brother, but we...we are the Ouran Host Club Police!" He stood up and struck a pose with the rest of the club. Hikaru and Kaoru stood on either side of Tamaki, a hand on their hips, and another giving peace signs. Mitsukuni stood in front of Hikaru next to Tamaki, and was saluting. Kaoru stood next to Kyoya behind Tamaki, and Kyoya had his arms crossed.

Kyoya sighed, thinking, _Why do I even bother to help people? _It always made the situation worse-or even _more _dramatic.

Alex grinned, looked down at Kirimi, who was in Haruhi's arms, and placed a hand on her hip and pulled out the whip that was hanging on her belt, saying, "We're the O.H.C.P.D and we're here to help!"

He then remembered why.

Haruhi made a sour face, glaring at the entire club(Alex included) while Kirimi stared up at everyone in awe. Kirimi then asked a question curiously, an innocent smile on her face.

"Are you an Uke or a Seke?"

Everyone else felt a cold wind enter the club room for the third time that day.

Alex fell over, taking note that _Seme _was no included in that question. She stood back up and cried out, face a dark red.

"N-N-Neither!"

After regaining his composure, Tamaki spoke, only after placing Alex's policewoman cap back on her head after picking up off the floor. "Our mission is to rescue students in distress! It's a problem if mutually affectionate siblings can't be near each other! Nekozawa-Sempai!" He whirled around and pointed at Umehito, who look on with alarm. "You'll be accumulated to the light in no time, and simultaneously under my private authority, become the princely character of Kirimi-Chan's dreams!"

Nekozawa screamed, his face turning extremely pale at the thought of standing in the sun, as lightning struck down on him metaphorically.

* * *

Three days later...

"The boss has taken on the role of an extreme spartan," Kaoru commented in surprise, watching as Tamaki thrashed Nekozawa with a newspaper and then shining a flashlight in his face. "Didn't it occur that Nekozawa-Sempai might curse him?" That was a rare moment.

"Yeah," Hikaru agreed, but then questioned, "But what's the point in feeding a bunch of courting lines to his younger sister?"

Alex tried to cut in, "H-Hey, don't be so hard on him, Tamaki!" The blonde ignored her and she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "This is ridiculous..."

Kyoya spoke in amusement, "Looks like Tamaki is on top of things." He watched Tamaki yell at Nekozawa

"-there's no affection to your words! You must truly, honestly believe with all your heart, that your practice partner is Kirimi-Chan!"

Nekozawa sweatdropped, and pointed awkwardly to the bear dressed like Kirimi. "You may say that, but..._that _doesn't look anything like her. Her face isn't quite an earthly color." Mitsukuni laughed, agreeing with Kyoya.

"Tama-Chan's on a roll!"

"Yeah, but I still don't think the lines he's feeding him are appropriate to use on his sister." Hikaru spoke up, frowning. "I mean, have you ever seen me or Kaoru talk to Alex like that?"

"Yeah. The boss isn't training him how to be a brother, but how to be a host!" Kaoru exclaimed, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Honestly, how can he expect him to be able to win Kirimi-Chan over with those lines? Even if he didn't use the costume, she'd still be scared of him if he started spouting out stuff like that!"

Alex sighed and sat down on the floor, her legs to the side with her hands pressed against the ground. Her head was hanging down with her hair in her face, stress lines forming. "I give up...They're not listening to me..." The twins got up off of their stools and patted her on the back, offering words of comfort and idea of pranks.

They then came up with a perfect idea and ran out of the room and back in within two minutes, carrying a giant sock monkey puppet that they had dressed like Haruhi, only in the girl's uniform. They set the doll on the chair and spoke, both grinning.

**"Hey, boss! Use your "eyes of the heart" and sweet-talk this Haruhi!" **Tamaki appeared hesitant.

"Wait...this doll...is _Haruhi?_" It look _nothing _like her. The doll didn't have her big dark brown eyes and tanned skin. It didn't have her short, strawberry-scented chocolate colored hair. It didn't even have her petite figure. This doll was chunky and smelled like a barn animal.

**"You should teach him by example!" **Tamaki gulped, the doll's eyes staring at him lifelessly with no expression. Taking a deep breath, he channeled his mind's inner eyes and grabbed the doll's hand, saying,

"Haruhi...I-I...Haruhi, I-"

"If you're going to be doing disgusting things like this all day, can you play with Kirimi-Chan instead?" Tamaki snapped out of it and pushed the sock monkey Haruhi doll away, staring at the _real _Haruhi in alarm.

"H-Haruhi! You're the real one!"

"If you got time to do disgusting things like this, then surely you can spare some time to play with her for a while!"

The twins laughed as Tamaki was quickly sent to his corner of woe. From where she was standing, Alex let out a small cough before grinning. Kyoya place a hand on his hip, muttering.

"Tsk, tsk." He then looked at the short-haired brunette, but not before casting a small glance towards Alex. "Why don't you keep her company Haruhi? Don't you enjoy playing with kids?"

"Well, no. It's not like I don't like them or anything, but the past three days I've been doing nothing but reading Shojo Manga to Kirimi-Chan while Alex gallivanted around in here with you and the rest of the club."

Alex flinched and protested, "Not true! I helped out! In case you've forgotten, I've hung out with her all day yesterday! We played "house"." She grinned, looking quite pleased with herself. "Kirimi was my "daughter"."

Mitsukuni asked curiously, "Who was the father?"

Kyoya barely cast them a glance as he said nonchalantly, acting like it was part of an everyday conversation, "Well, naturally, I was. I'm not sure if you remember, but I had proceeded to help Alex care for Kirimi on the second day after I let Mori-Sempai in charge of keeping things in control."

Everyone gained looks of remembrance, and the twins grinned. They turned to look at Alex and teased, **"Not Mrs. Ootori, Alex? You sure about that?" **

Her face grew bright red and they laughed, only to shut up as she glared at them. They ran and hid behind Mori.

_"Hey, Hey, can we play "house"?" Kirimi asked excitedly, causing Alex and Kyoya to stare at her. Her big blue eyes were wide and pleading, and it was almost impossible for Alex to say "no" to such an adorable face. _

_"I-I guess..." She looked at Kyoya for help, who merely shrugged. "Hey-!" Kirimi cut her off, smiling widely. _

_"You can be my "mommy" and you can be the "daddy"!" _

_"W-Wait-Hold on-!" Alex tried to protest, but Kyoya took advantage of the situation and casually slung an arm over shoulders. _

_He gave her a shit-eating grin, "What's the matter "dear"? Has our daughter been causing trouble again?" Kirimi squealed, practically bouncing up-and-down on the couch, and ran over to hug Kyoya's leg. _

_"Mommy said she wouldn't take me to go pick flowers! She's being mean to me, daddy!" Kirimi tugged on his pants leg, as if signaling for him to pick her up. Kyoya seemed to hesitate for a moment, still only a novice when it came to people, before kneeling down and picking her up. "You'll convince her, right? Right, daddy?" _

_Alex didn't know whether to laugh, be embarrassed, or be utterly horrified as Kyoya decided to have fun and tease her to get a reaction, and Kirimi acting like she and Kyoya were married and that she was their daughter. _

_She had two evil masterminds plotting against her, and she could only go along. Okay, she was the mean mommy, right? She can do this. _

_Alex took a deep breathe and plastered on the best stern look she could manage without grinning, and placed a hand on her hip. "Now, Kirimi, I said "no" and that's final. Mother's word is law around here." She was NOT going to let them get the best of her. Kirimi let out a noise of complaint. Kyoya started to advance, causing Alex to back up. No...He was not going to use Kirimi's love of Shojo Manga to his advantage, right? Right!? _

_"Is that so?" He asked, deepening his voice and sending chills down her spine. His face was right in front of hers, his minty breathe brushing over her face, as he had leaned down enough to look her in the eyes. Alex was backed up against a wall, and Kirimi looked like she was trying her hardest not to fangirl. _

_That poor girl was corrupted beyond comprehension due that manga! _

_But, then again, Alex was too... _

_"Are you sure about that, Alex?" She could feel her heart pounding, and those stupid butterflies were rampaging around in her stomach again. Her face was cherry red. "Who is in charge of this household?" _

_She turned her head, refusing to look at him but unable to keep herself from looking into his eyes. "I-I am..." _

_Kirimi was trying even harder not to squeal. **Real life Shojo Manga~! **She thought, eyes sparkling. Not to mention she had front row seats. _

_"Kiss! Mommy and Daddy have to kiss!" They broke apart and looked down at Kirimi, and Alex couldn't help her sigh of relief as she slumped against the wall. She resisted the urge to press her hand against her chest as she tried to calm her frantic heart. What was Kyoya gonna do? _Wait, what did Kirimi say? _"You have to kiss! Push her up against the wall again and kiss her! You're the Seme!" _

_Alex's eyes widened. Kyoya looked at Alex thoughtfully and pushed his glasses up, saying, "Seme, huh?" He pulled off his glasses, and for a moment Alex thought he was going to clean them, but watched as he stuck them in his blazer pocket and found him advancing again. _

_"H-Hey, what are you-" She started to protest, trying to get her legs working to move again, but just as her feet started to move Kyoya had cupped her face and pressed his lips against hers. _

_Kirimi squealed. _

"-and to my surprise, those things really _are _full of reverse harems and debauchery!" Haruhi finished ranting about the Shojo Manga. Alex covered her face with her hands, muttering,

"At least you didn't have to act it out..." Haruhi didn't seem to hear her correctly and asked in confusion,

"What'd you say, Alex?"

Her face turned a deep red as she looked up, like a deer caught in the headlights, and stuttered, "N-N-Nothing! For-Forget I said anything!" Haruhi raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The door suddenly opened and Kirimi stood there with teary eyes.

"Big-Big brother...?" She started to cry, "It's so dark in here~!" Alex and Haruhi were by Kirimi's side in an instant, trying to calm the crying girl down.

"Aw, Kirimi-Chan, I told you stay in the music room..."

"It's okay, It's okay. We're here, Kirimi. See, look, you're big brother is here, too!" Tamaki quickly ran over once she started crying asked gently,

"Aw, what's wrong? Here," He picked her up and started to twirl her around above his head. Kirimi stopped crying and started to laugh. "See, not so scary now, is it? Here, have a candy." He gave her a piece of candy and she took it, smiling shyly as she blinked the tears out of her eyes.

Nekozawa watched the scene for a few moments, remembered how Tamaki had always acted with Kirimi, his training, and what to say...what to do. He turned to look at his Beelzenef doll for a moment before breathing in deeply and shoving it into his pants pocket. He could do this.

Hesitantly, heart pounding fearfully, he reached over to the desk where a flashlight was sitting. _I can do this...I can do this...I am a handsome princely big brother. I am a handsome princely big brother... _He repeated that a few times as he stared into the light bulb the flashlight. He squeezed his eyes shut and ground his teeth together, before inhaling deeply and holding his breathe as he turned on the flashlight.

He could feel the burning rays of the light on his face, and after a moments hesitation, he opened his eyes.

Hope fluttered through him like a euphoria.

Everyone turned to stare at Nekozawa in shock, he who was holding a flashlight in his own face.

**"He...did it." **No words could explain their astonishment. Tamaki quickly ran over with a smile, after setting Kirimi back down, and patted him on the back as he congratulated him.

"Good work, Sempai! Just a little farther and-"

"Kirimi-Chan!" Haruhi exclaimed, seeing her standing by the door again. Nekozawa's eyes widened and a look so happy it almost brought tears to everyone's eyes formed on his face. He turned his head to smile at his sister.

"Kirimi!" However, with the flashlight in his face, he look ominous due to the shading. The girl froze to the spot, before bursting out crying and screaming and turned on the spot to run away. Nekozawa dropped the flashlight and held a hand out, screaming her name. Suddenly he grew lightheaded and collapsed.

He knew he shouldn't have tried the flashlight. Now not only was he weak, but his sister was more scared than ever of him now.

**"Nekozawa-Sempai!" **

Tamaki quickly ran over to his recently newfound friend. Nekozawa ignored him and pulled an ignored Beelzenef out of his pants pocket, staring at it with sad eyes.

"It's fine, Suoh...Even-Even if I continued with the training, it doesn't guarantee that Kirimi will ever accept me as her older brother..." His was laced with so much _pain _and _hurt_ it was almost heartbreaking to listen to. "She doesn't want someone like me..." His voice cracked slightly. His blonde hair fell into his face and covered his watery eyes. "She wants someone like you, Tamaki."

The blonde Host snapped. "Are you an idiot!? Can't you see that it's not _me _she wants!? The one, the brother that she's _truly _looking for, is right in front of me! If you truly care about your sister, then you'll do whatever it takes to win her over! You love her, don't you!? The big brother she's looking for is _you!_"

Nekozawa paused, his eyes half-lidded as he tried to understand Tamaki's harsh words. He didn't understand. Why would Kirimi want a brother like him, when she could have a brother like _Tamaki_? He's seen the way he was with his sister... He'd make a much better brother than he.

"Uh, boss, we found her!" Hikaru exclaimed, opening one of the curtains in the science room.

Kaoru explained, "She ran into the courtyard...It looks like there's something down there with her."

Hikaru squinted and declared, "Oh, it's a cat!" Alex ran over excitedly, looking out the window as the twins looked down at her surprised.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Kaoru told her with a smile. "I guess you'd expect it from a cat-worshiping family. Even strays like them."

Nekozawa stood up and exclaimed, fear coursing through his veins, "No, that's not true! I mean, yes, cats are revered by our family, but Kirimi is deathly _terrified _of animals! Cats are the worst in her opinion!" He sounded like he was going to have a panic attack. "Let me see! Where is she!?" Hikaru, Kaoru, and Alex all moved out of the way as Nekozawa peered out of the window.

Alex frowned, not understanding how one could be afraid of such an adorable creature, but didn't comment. She watched in surprise as Nekozawa suddenly started to run out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Haruhi exclaimed in alarm, "Nekozawa-Sempai, your robe-!" He didn't seem to hear her, to busy running down the halls to get to the courtyard. Everyone moved to the window just in time to see Nekozawa run towards Kirimi, scaring the adorable tabby cat cat away. Kirimi was crying and ran towards Nekozawa, tackling him in a hug.

Tamaki cried out, cheering, "He did! He's okay even though he's standing in broad daylight!"

"Go, Neko-Chan!" Mitsukuni cheered, smiling widely.

_"Don't be scared, Kirimi, don't be scared...Beelzenef will c-curse...all...bad cats..." _They watched in alarm and screamed when Nekozawa collapsed backwards, fainting.

Alex asked curiously, despite her wonder, "Anyone else want to know the real reason why he can't stand sunlight?" She coughed lightly again.

...

The next day, Tamaki was crying the entire day about how "Nekozawa thanked him and said he was going to cast a wonderful spell". The poor boy looked terrified.

**I am so out of practice with Alex's character. DX Ugh, I feel like she's a bit OOC in this one...Anyway, sorry for the late update. Slight writers block on this one. Please don't kill me, tell me what you think about it...**

**DELETED SCENE: also written out of boredom before this chapter was written and had no place to put. But, to keep out the confusion, this scene did not actually happen in the story.**

"You realize that you're not actually a policewoman, Alex?" Kyoya asked the brunette, causing her to turn her head and look at him in surprise before nodding, a pair of handcuffs the twins have given her to go with her cosplay in her left hand. "You can't actually "punish" the guests."

Alex pouted, despite knowing that Kyoya wouldn't be Kyoya if he didn't ruin all her fun.

Alex had tried to act like "Misaki Ayuzawa" from _Kaichou-Wa Maid-Sama _as she was dressed in a police woman uniform, complete with the miniskirt, see-through leggings, and leather boots with highheels. On the belt that was wrapped around her waist, was a small black whip. The twins went all out with her skit. Alex then realized what Kyoya was doing before she smirked, taking a few steps towards him despite her uneasiness in the heels, and quickly reached up and grabbed his tie, leaning upwards as she pulled his face close to hers.

She watched in slight delight as his eyes widened in surprise, not expecting such a move from her.

_Payback for messing with me all the time, _She couldn't help but think as she looked at him with mischievous eyes, a devilish smirk on her face as she forwards-her lips nearly grazing his ear as she whispered with a rather impressive seductive smile, "There's no need to be so jealous, _Kyoya_," She emphasized his name, suddenly grateful for all the romance stories she reads, "If you want...No, keep up _this _act, and I might just find myself unable to prevent myself from punishing you..." She moved so that her face was in front of his, their noses centimeters apart as she asked, her eyes looking into his behind dark lashes, "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

She had to admit, the look on his face was priceless-and oddly, she wanted to see more of it. She was surprising herself with how well she was pulling off this act, as this is completely different from how she normally is.

She released his tie with a triumphant smile, reveling at the light blush that spread across his pale cheeks as she turned to step away. She was going to engrave that sight into her memory. She started to walk away after that decision, only to have a large hand grab her by the forearm and whirl her around, slamming her around and pressing her back against a table, both of her wrists now pinned above her head by one of Kyoya's much larger hands.

She stared with wide eyes at him, surprised and alarmed. She didn't expect that. She opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off when he practically _climbed _on top of her, one foot on the ground and his other leg on her right side against the table, his free hand next to her head.

The smirk on his face was amused as he leaned down, his bangs falling across his forehead. He spoke, "You seem to have forgotten that _I'm _the dominant one in this relationship, Alex." Seeing her about to react and say something, he pulled off his glasses and stuck them in his shirt pocket.

She wriggled slight in his grip, uncomfortable on the table and at the all squealing that was going on in the background. She protested, face turning a bright red, "Wh-What relationship!? We're not together-"

His lips pressed against hers as if to silence her, moving them slowly as his free hand started to trail down her side before resting on her right leg. Her eyes grew wide and she quickly squeezed them shut, feeling the blush darken considerably as her heart beat faster.

A small shiver went down her spine, the _good _kind of shiver, when she felt him flick hit tongue against her bottom lip. She bit her lip, extremely embarrassed at the turn of events that went from her _teasing _him to him _ravishing _her, only Kyoya didn't seem to like that. Feeling a smirk form on his lips at her shyness, her _cuteness_, he ran his hand down her leg slowly, causing her to open her eyes and her mouth as she reacted to tell him something-only to realize her mistake too late as his tongue darted into her mouth, exploring every inch.

She was the _Uke_, he was the _Seme_, _he _was the _dominate _one and _she _was the _submissive _one. And if he had to prove it this way, so be it. Alex was his-like hell he'd let any other guy have her.

After a few moments, he pulled away and took in her dark red face, her eyes locking onto his. Calmly, he removed his hand from her leg and put his glasses back on, smirking at her. She huffed and turned her head, trying not to look at him but failing as her eyes darted to look at him as she muttered, "I hate you sometimes..."

"That's what you think," He told her and moved away from her, commenting, "Don't try and _punish _me again, otherwise next time will be much, _much _worse." He watched as she froze and her face practically explode in different shades of red, smirking as he grew highly amused at her imagination.

Not trusting her voice to speak, she merely nodded with wide eyes.


	21. A Day in the Life of the Fujioka Family

**Sorry for the late update, my previous attempts to write the beginning of the chapter were extremely crappy and I had to keep rewriting them until it turned out right, THEN there was the basketball game, THEN there was the lock-in for Band. Which was 4 pm to 7 am so I was there the entire night and I couldn't do anything, and I'm also working on a PJO fanfic which I have yet to actually fix the title, but it is called "Darkness Beyond Sun", but the current title is just PJO: (Enter chapter name here) in my Possible Future Stories I have posted on my Quotev. THere also some Blue Exorcists, Sword Art Online, Fairy Tail, and my Vampire Knight story Kinji Rareta Unmei with a couple of chapters each in there, so if you want to read those, you can go Quotev and read them. There were also the multiple basketballs games I kept going to for Band, and they are actually rather close together. So, that's my excuse. **

**I also hadn't had much inspiration, nor was I in the mood, to type much of anything of any story lately, so there's that. I've just been tired for weeks straight and it's just like, "I need to work on my stories" and went I actually went to write, I just sat there and typed and stared at the screen at the writing which was extremely crappy and I hated it. BUT I am happy because the beginning of this story is so much better now and I can actually type details and not make them look like crap again. Huzzah! **

**And the homework...So much math homework..**

**And I've been waiting for my friend to finish writing his character's PoV in the PJO story, but since he's in wrestling and all that fun jazz it's been taking him forever, and when he DID get it done, he lost it so he had to rewrite it. Fun. But he has most of it done now, so I'm happy. **

**Please don't hate me. Also, if Alex is out of character, please don't hate me. You can, but please don't. Now excuse me while I blow my nose due to getting locked out of the school Friday when I stayed after for another basketball game. I think I got a cold. Ugh. Fun. Well, I'm trying to write a chapter. Here. I LOVE YOU GUYS! **

**-AvionVadion **

**I forget where I was at in this story...I remember the plot, though...Haruhi's house after Yuzuha? Give me a minute. I swear, I'm like twisting all my stories into one. XD **

**May 22, 2014**

"Are you Alex?" The woman asked, peering down at the petite brunette with curious caramel eyes. The woman was lightly tanned, with short spiky orange hair and was wearing light makeup, mainly relying on her natural beauty. She wore a black halter dress with a light blue jean jacket, and a pair of matching black high heels. Her nails were painted red, and she had earrings lining both of her ears in silver and gold. Her eyes were warm, but mischievous, showing that she was a mother and was kind, but was playful in nature and liked to trick people. She had a slim and curvaceous figure, adding more to her natural beauty, but was obviously someone you didn't want to make angry.

Hikaru and Kaoru grinned at the woman, slinging their arms around Alex as they hugged the girl, showing her off to their mother. Hikaru had spoken first.

"Yup! This is the one we had move in with us! Isn't she just the _cutest?_" Hikaru smirked and pulled on Alex's right cheek, pinching it, and causing the girl to struggle and cry out in protest.

"Ow, ow, ow-Cut it out, Hikaru! That hurts!"

"What're you gonna do; call Kyoya?" As soon as Hikaru said that, he released Alex and looked behind him in fear, his face paling. He seemed as though he was expecting the Shadow King himself to appear behind him with death stare. Kyoya had more than once had to tell the twins to release Alex, and the twins were more than once scared by him. "Don't answer that." Hikaru said quickly, scowling as he crossed his arms and looked down at the girl.

Kaoru laughed at his brother and wrapped both his arms around Alex's neck, leaning down and resting his chin on her head. Alex made a face, feeling shorter than ever because of this, despite the warm brotherly gesture. "This is her, mom."

**"Is she in or out?" **Alex tried not to sweatdrop. They made it sound like they were debating putting keeping her in the Host Club or not rather than a debate over an adoption. Alex felt a cough come on, and she tried to hold it back. She ended up raising one of her arms and coughing into her sleeve. She was wearing a light purple turtle neck, with black jeans and sneakers.

"As long as she's alright with it," Their mother spoke with a hand to her chin, and an arm wrapped around her stomach, "I don't see why not." She looked behind her shoulder at a man with brown hair and eyes, with a goatee. He was wearing a plaid blue button-up shirt and jeans. He had a kind smile, and appeared calm compared to the wife, but blended in with the background. "What do you think, dear?"

The man nodded, "I believe it would make the twins happy to have a younger sister, and they appear to be getting along."

Alex felt Hikaru tighten his grip on her arm, and Kaoru pulled her closer to him. The brothers appeared to be tense, reading the secret message hidden in their father's words.

_"Having a member of the family that can tell them apart would be a good thing." -translation _

The woman, who's name is Yuzuha, smiled, revealing a pair of clear white teeth. "Wonderful!" She clapped her hands together and turned back to the three teens, "I should go get the paperwork! And, Alex-dear?" Alex looked up at Yuzuha curiously, confused. "If you ever want a part-time job, you can come and model sometime for me! You're so cute! With the broad shoulder, the thin waist, and wide hips-" As she said this, she had ran over and started running her hands down Alex's arms and later placed her hands on the girl's hips, making Alex highly uncomfortable.

The twins had backed away to let their mother do her thing.

"C-size bust-you'd do perfectly for my next project! You have such a cute face, too! It's not often when you find a girl who's naturally cute anymore." Alex's eyes grew wide, and she crossed her arms over her chest as she stepped back.

"W-What!? I'm not-I'm not-I'm not cute..." Alex didn't want to be mean, but was Yuzuha blind? Any prettiness she had was taken away a long time ago, which is now the reason she was sporting a scar across her face. Her shoulder looked mangled, and her arm was barely moving a couple months ago.

"Nonsense! Next I come back, I'm going to have you model for me! Kaoru-er, Hikaru," She paused, narrowing her eyes at Kaoru as she tried to distinguish them, "No, Kaoru! Yes, Kaoru, what do you say? Do you think the punk-rock style and the goth lolita would be cute on her?"

Kaoru cocked his head, observing Alex intently. After a moment, her said with a hand on his chin, "I think she would look pretty cute in a maid-theme dress in the Goth lolita. What do you think, Hikaru?" Hikaru frowned and didn't even miss a beat as he said,

"I say you should try the steam-punk style with her. Maybe a black-and-blue themed dress, or white-and-brown with some red."

Yuzuha beamed at her sons, before nodding in agreement. "Just what I was thinking. I'll go get the paperwork and soon, you'll officially become an Hitachiin!" Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other for a moment, then down at Alex, who hesitated before nodding in agreement.

**"One more thing! When you go to change her name, put it as "Ayumu". It means "walk your own way"." **Before Yuzuha had appeared, the twins were discussing Alex's name. Her name was purely American, and it would sounds weird as Hitachiin Alex. They were debating Japanese names, deciding that Alex can just stay as her middle name, and came up with "Ayumu".

The mother was surprised, but quickly smiled at her sons. "Of course. Come on, dear." Her husband quickly followed his wife out of the room.

**May 24, 2014**

"Kyoya?" Alex asked in surprise, honestly not having him call her the next day. "What's up?"

_"I'm sorry for the bother," _The tone of his voice told her he wasn't really sorry, _"but Tamaki decided it wise to invite us all to head over to Haruhi's house for the evening. Is that clear? The twins are already getting dressed." _

"Hah? Wait, seriously? I though they were joking about going to Haruhi's house!" Alex felt conflicted. She had plans to hang out with Akiko for the day. But if she called them off, then she'd get to spend a whole day with Kyoya... "Ah...Hey, if I come, can I bring a friend with?"

_"What friend?" _

"Akiko. She's one of my guests."

_"As long as she doesn't figure out Haruhi's secret, then I see no reason why she can't come." _

"Seriously!? Awesome! Thanks, Kyoya! Um, give me a minute-Actually, I'll see you at Haruhi's place! Oh, yeah, Haruhi and I already told her about Haruhi being a girl, and she can keep a secret. Bye, Lov-" Alex caught herself in the nick of time, tensing. "See you!"

_"Alex, what-" _Despite the consequences she'd surely have to face later, she quickly hung up the phone with a red face. She looked down at her outfit and made a face, not too sure about wearing it in front of Kyoya and the rest of the Host Club. It was black buttoned-up cardigan on top of a purple shirt, accompanied by a matching purple skirt with black one-inch heels that had purple straps wrapped around her ankles. After seeing her wear heels during the Nekozawa fiasco, Akiko had wanted to see her wear more heels. Alex's hair was pulled back with a simple black headband, a strand or two dangling in front of her face.

Alex stared at her iphone for a few moments before scrolling down and pressing the button with Akiko's number on it. Holding it up to her ear, she waited for a few moment.

_"Hello?" _

"Akiko-Chan! Uh, well, um, it's Alex...Is it alright if you hang out with me and the Host Club for the day? Or are you too busy? I know we had plans and-and that we were going to hang out at your place, but, uh..."

_"No, no! It's fine, Alex. Besides, you would say no to a chance to hang out with the Host Club? Besides, I want to see some more "crossdressing" Haruhi!" _Alex grinned at that. It was a while back, when Alex had accompanied Haruhi to the store, just before the Lobelia incident, that they encountered Akiko in the store. Akiko had walked home with them, and had witnessed Ranka calling Haruhi his "daughter". Akiko was shocked, nearly disbelieving, but after being told the story she grinned and commented on how very "shoujo manga" like it had been.

"Awesome!"

_"You're still dressed-up, right?" _Alex made a face.

"Unfortunately...Anyway, we're all heading over to Haruhi's place."

_"Sweet! I can't wait! It's been a while since I'd seen Ranka-san. I'll go finish getting ready and I'll meet you at your place." _

"Okay. Bye."

_"Bye!" _Akiko hung up and Alex stuffed her phone in her pocket, before fiddling a little with her hair. Did she look weird? What would Kyoya think when he saw her?

Alex then gained stress lines on her face, realizing that when she saw Kyoya, she was going to have a hell of a lot of explaining to do.

_Oh, the woe that is me...As if my life was bad enough... _She hung her head, groaning. She barely even though about her own dimension anymore, her "siblings" faces hardly able to be pictured. Her parents still probably hated her for not being a boy, and probably were treating Akari the same way they had treated her.

She just hoped that Akari wasn't going to do something stupid and give up another limb or something to help someone else. Honestly, was Akari stupid? Why does that girl keep risking her life like that?

_"Hehehe...Hypocrite. But that's what makes you interesting, isn't it, puppet?"_

Alex froze, losing all color in her face as the voice-one she did but did not recognize-echoed in her mind, vibrating around the room, but was clear as day. It sounded different, strange, as if two people were talking at once. It sounded like Alex-and Akari herself-but with an overtone of...

Alex couldn't explain it. The only word she could think of was _supernatural_. The voice wasn't normal. It also...sounded oddly familiar, like she had heard it before. Not because it was her voice, but because she had actually _heard _that same strange mixture of a voice speak to her before...right after the crash, before she woke up after rolling over a limo.

She had blocked it out until now, not even processing and/or acknowledging its existence, but it was there in the back of her mind, not coming out until now.

_Angel. _She was certain that was who it was. She was positive this was the "angel" Akari always spoke about in her dreams. Alex felt a deep hatred for this voice, but if it wasn't for this voice, this _thing_, then she would be dead and would have not ever had met anyone that she knows now. She would have never come to love those who she cared for, and who had cared for her back. She would have never met the real Kyoya.

It had given her a second chance at life, and she was going to try to live it to the best of her abilities.

_"Oh~! You know who I am! How interesting, but I'm sure that Akari filled you in? I am indeed the "angel" you talk about, but I am more widely known as..."God". "Truth", perhaps, if you will. I am one, I am all, I am everything and anything around you, and most of all...I am **you**. Sorry for the late notice, but I have been rather busy as of late keeping track of all my messengers."_

"Messengers?" Alex accidentally asked this aloud, causing her face to redden. _What the hell does that mean? _

_"It means that I made you go to a dimension on the other side of a gate. You are to change what is to happen, but keep the events flowing in the right order. There is always a chance that you can return to your original dimension, but there is also the option of staying here."_

_Why are you telling me this now? _

_"Because if I don't, then the show wouldn't be very interesting. I already have Elizabeth working with the Curtis's. She's building a place, but she will eventually choose to leave. She isn't her sister, who will stay. I know how everything will plan out, but you all always seem to surprise me. I find it rather amusing."_

_You're a sadist. _

_"Perhaps. Now go to the twins. This is the first time I'm going to be contacting you. The last time will be when you're near death."_ That confused Alex. Hadn't she already been near death three times? Does this mean Alex will die sooner than she had thought? The voice laughed in her head and said, _"Do not fret. You are not my "oath" and you are not my "satisfaction". You are my "defender". Your death will not be too soon. It will come later, much later. Enjoy yourself while you can, Alexandria. Or should I say, perhaps, Ayumu now?"_

Alex felt chilled to the bone, like someone had just walked on her grave. Of course, for all she knew, someone had. Her face felt cold, and when she pressed her hand against her left cheek, she realized she was crying. Alex was going to die. She didn't know when, and it wasn't going to be soon, but she was still going to die. Perhaps it would be a month from now? Maybe even a year? Whatever the case, Alex didn't enjoy it one bit.

And, now, Alex realized she wasn't the only one playing this twisted Angel's game. There were others, too. One's whose name meant "Oath" and "Satisfaction". Alex's name meant "Defender of mankind", which if you go by the bible, were "God's creations". The oath must mean "God's Oath" and the satisfaction obviously was "God's Satisfaction", which meant that they were all playing a sick twisted game of life and death.

And what he called himself...

Dear god, does this mean other fictional words were actually reality as well? Does this mean that "Truth" controlled them all!?

Alex quickly wiped the tears off of her face and tried to regain her composure. Alex wasn't the only one. There were others here, too, who were dealing with him. In _Fullmetal Alchemist_, Truth wasn't a total jerk-he was just ironic. There was nothing ironic about Alex's situation however, which confused her, but what confused her even more was why he didn't take any of her limbs, or her voice, or _something. _What payment could he had taken from her to send her here?

In this life she was now living, all she had dealt with was pain, and worry, and confusion, and death, and trying to protect her loved ones. What his payment her sorrow?

"ALEX!" The girl nearly _jumped _out of her skin when Akiko came barging into her room, wearing a light yellow shirt with a black jacket that she had unzipped. She wore blue jean shorts that stopped at mid-thigh and black thigh-highs, along with a pair of brown boots. The girl, who had her back hair tied in a low side ponytail, which was left dangling over her right shoulder, charged and tackled Alex, wrapping her arms around the brunette's neck.

Akiko grinned brightly, at Alex, who was stunned and slightly still horrified at her sudden realization.

"Well, where are the twins? Are we seriously heading over to Haruhi's place? Oh! I can't wait to spend more time with her! She's so nice!" Alex felt a small smile form on her face, trying to push the thoughts of her impending doom out of her head.

"Yeah. Come on. I'll go find Hikaru and Kaoru and then we can leave."

...

As it turned out, Akiko and Hikaru didn't get along very well. They kept arguing and arguing and it was a wonder how Alex and Kaoru didn't go insane and yell at them.

"You shouldn't even _be _here! How are we supposed to trust you!?"

"Because I knew Haruhi's secret a long time back and I haven't told anyone!"

"That doesn't mean that you won't in the future! Kaoru, back me up here!"

"Alex, help me!" Alex and Kaoru looked at each other exasperatedly, unable to calm either party down. The chauffeur sighed sadly, muttering to himself,

"Why couldn't I just stay home with my wife and daughter and watch _Tangled_?" The movie was very helpful in many ways, such as a time when he knocked a crazy trigger-happy guy unconscious with a frying pan.

"Go home, crazy lady!"

"Says you, caramel mouse!"

Alex groaned, resting her against Kaoru's shoulder as they drove to Haruhi's apartment. "Where are they even coming _up _with these nicknames?" Kaoru gave her a small smile, trying to hide the worried look on his face. Kaoru was growing nervous. A part of him couldn't help but think, _what if Akiko did tell someone about Haruhi's secret? What would happen then? _but another part of him trusted Alex's judgment.

They could only wait and see how things would turn out.

...

"Here you are, Master." The chaffeur opened the car and Tamaki stepped out.

Alex tried to hide the burning red embarrassment that was her face as she slid out of the fancy car. Akiko and the Hitachiin brothers followed, completely used to the royalty treatment. The others also had similar cars, fancy expensive ones such as a Mercedes and a RollsRoyce. The group quickly gathered in their regular positions when outside the Host Club.

It went Kyoya on the far left, with Alex in front of him and next to Tamaki, who was fixing his sunglasses and standing next an excited Mitsukuni, who was in front of Mori, with the twins next to him. Hikaru had his hands on his hips, while Kaoru had a smile on his face with his arms crossed. Akiko was standing next to Kaoru.

"So this is where Haruhi lives?" Kaoru asked surprised, looking up at the apartment complex.

"It's pretty big, huh? Bigger than I thought it'd be."

"Yeah!" Mitsukuni agreed enthusiastically, talking to Hikaru. He waved his hands in the air, "Look at all the room!"

"This building is what you might call a congregate commoner dwelling." Alex sweatdropped at Kyoya's explanation, but couldn't help but to smile at the dark-haired man. Haruhi's home is just one of the many buildings in this unit." Tamaki stopped his pacing and ran up to Kyoya, clamping his hands on his shoulders with stress lines on his face. Kyoya calmly crossed his arms and stared down at the blonde.

"Kyoya-why? Why did you bring these _idiots_ with us!? Especially those two dopplegangers!" He pointed behind him angrily at Hikaru and Kaoru, who looked offended at that comment. "I called _you_-not them-!"

Kyoya calmly cut him, raising one hand and placing it on his chin with a frown as he began to explain, closing his eyes, "Well, you see, I knew you wouldn't have the courage to come here alone, so I thought it'd be best if everyone came along. Well, I see I was mistaken. Time to go home-" He moved over and pushed Hikaru and Kaoru away from the group, patting them on the backs, "Seems I underestimated our _great _leader."

"What, why!?"

"I don't wanna go!"

**"Besides, we're not leaving Alex here with you!" **

"Yeah, nor her shady friend!" Kyoya looked surprised at that and cast a glance at Alex and Akiko-one who was grinning sheepishly and rubbing her left arm, and one who was scowling and sending Hikaru an annoyed look.

"WAIT, DON'T LEAVE, I'M SORRY!" Tamaki screamed, rushing over and grabbing Kyoya's shoulders, "I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!"

Meanwhile, in the background near the vehicles, people were asking questions and looked around in confusion.

"Is this for some new movie shoot or something?"

"Rich people! Rich people!" A kid cheered, spinning in circles excitedly. Some girls were talking in hushed whispers and staring at the male members of the group, while a couple men were eyeing Akiko and Alex.

"They're so handsome! Think they're really rich?"

"Those girls are pretty cute...Though the scars kinda detracts from that one girl's value."

"I like the gray-eyed one."

Back with our main stars...

Tamaki held up a finger, "Listen up, men. Don't you forget! We must be polite. This is a casual, "We-just-happened-to-be-in-the-neighborhood" kind of visit. We're not here to judge the Fujioka Family's life style! Words "shabby", "cramped", and "rundown" are absolutely _forbidden!_"

**"Right! Yes, sir!" **Hikaru, Kaoru, Alex, and Mitsukuni declared, saluting, while Mori stood in the back next to Kyoya. Akiko had an exasperated face, but was amused nonetheless.

"Don't say anything to Haruhi and her father that might cause them to ask us to leave."

"Well, it's too late for that, go away!" There were multiple gasps, mainly from the dramatic members of the group, and surprised looks, as they all turned to look at an angry and fuming Haruhi. She was wearing plain blue skinny jeans underneath a pink sleeveless dress that was on top of a white plain T. She wore red-and-white sneakers and had a couple of necklaces on. She was carrying grocery bags in each hand, and slung over her shoulder was a cute white purse.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki gasped, before he, the twins, and Mitsukuni all gave her a thumbs up.

**"That outfit looks pretty cute!" **

"Shut up! Get the hell out of here! Alex, Akiko-you two can stay if you want. Everyone else, fuck off!"

Tamaki screamed in horror. "Haruhi's so mad she actually used the F-bomb and cursed at us! MOOOOMMMMY~!" Kyoya stared at Tamaki while Alex burst out laughing. Tamaki quickly moved over to the twins and started to scream and yell at them, accusing them of making Haruhi angry.

The twins merely held their hands behind their heads and crossed their legs, saying, **"Hey, it wasn't us." **

"Excuse me, Haruhi dear, but is everything alright? Those fancy cars-are you being threatened by the Yakuza or something?"

Haruhi turned her head surprised and said, "Oh, hi, Miss Landlady. No, they're not really-"

"Do you want me to call the police?" Before anyone could blink, Tamaki had snatched the elderly woman's hand and smiled charmingly at her.

Tamaki placed a hand against his chest as Haruhi backed away from the scene, but still watching, "Please, excuse me, _madam. _My name is Suoh. I am one of Haruhi's friends."

"Really?" A blush quickly spread across the woman's face as she pressed a hand against her cheek, watching as Tamaki ran a hand through his hair, "My goodness, aren't you just adorable!?"

"Hey, say, you two girls single?" Alex and Akiko turned to look at a couple of men surprised. They were smirking at the two female teens. "'Cause if so, me and my friend know this good place nearby that we can go hang out?"

Akiko froze up, gray eyes widening as she remembered the incident at the beach. Alex noticed and turned to look at her friend, worried. She reached up and grabbed the girl by the arm, shaking her lightly.

"Hey, Akiko, you okay?"

"It's happening again..."

"No it's not. You're imagining things. That was a while ago. You're safe now." It took a minute, but Akiko finally seem to snap out of it. She looked at Alex with a sheepish grin, her eyes closing as her face turned a slight red.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. It's just...because of that you and Haruhi nearly..."

"We're okay! Relax!" Alex was forced out of their conversation when one of three men reached over and grabbed Alex's wrist roughly, causing her to look up in alarm.

"Hey, you together with someone or not? 'Cause if not, then you can hang out with us!" The man who hadn't spoken until now, looked at his rough-looking friend nervously.

"Hey, man, cut it out. These people are rich. They can sue us-"

"Relax!" Man number 1 said. "What can a couple of girls do?" Man number 2 tightened his grip on Alex's wrist, tugging her towards him against her will. Man number 1 reached over to grab Akiko, but a hand darted out and grabbed the man's arm. The girl looked up in surprise to see Mori staring down at the man blankly.

Hands placed them selves on Alex's shoulder, and man number 2 found himself staring into the dark and cold eyes of Kyoya, who was currently giving a shit-eating grin. "I'd appreciate it if you left these two girls alone. We wouldn't want any casualties, now do we?" The men quickly backed off, and Mori released the first, sending the man into a stumbling panic as he tried to run away.

_That didn't happen last time Akiko and I visited..._ Alex frowned and bit her lip, and ignored the feeling of disappointment she gained when Kyoya removed his hands from her shoulders. _Maybe it was because we came in fancy cars? _She sighed. Alex felt someone grab her hand and looked up in surprise to see Kyoya looking at a piece of paper as he led her towards the stairs, the rest of the Host Club following in tow with the exception of Haruhi. She felt the annoying butterflies flutter about in her stomach and a small smile tugged at her lips as she looked up at him, walking right behind him. She loved the feeling of his hand in hers.

"Let's see...It says that Haruhi's apartment number is 203." Mori set Mitsukuni on the railing and was pushing him up with one hand, as it was placed on the blonde's back, and Mitsukuni was cheering.

"Weeeee! Are these stairs gonna crumble by any chance!? It's a slide!"

**"Let's find out!" **Hikaru and Kaoru pounded their fists on the railing a couple of times as they walked.

"They're not gonna break, idiot!" Akiko argued, sending Hikaru an annoyed look. "You'd think that'd be obvious. Children walk on these things-they're not gonna make it to where they fall and let the kids get hurt." Hikaru sent Akiko a glare back.

"Shut up! I wasn't suggesting anything like that! I was merely curious!"

Haruhi screamed at them from the ground, "YOU GUYS CAN'T GO IN WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! GET BACK DOWN HERE!" Tamaki sent Haruhi a bright smile as he waved at the Landlady.

"Take your time and play! Oh, Haruhi dear! I'll bring some cookies later for you and your friend!"

"Oh! Can you make them chocolate chip!?" Alex called over excitedly, despite not being a huge fan of sweets. The landlady looked up at Alex and smiled, nodding. "Yes!"

"Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite!" Akiko grinned like a little kid, and Mitsukuni seemed just as excited. Haruhi and Tamaki quickly made their way up the stairs, and Haruhi started to lecture everyone.

"Here's the deal you guys. I'm only giving you all a quick peek! Alex and Akiko can stay if they want, but the rest of you have to go home, got it?"

Mitsukuni had pink flowers blooming around him as he held up a blue decorated box, "Look Haru-Chan! I brought you a present! I know how much you love cake! There's both chocolate and strawberry!" Haruhi stared down at the smiling boy for a moment, before sighing.

"Fine...Guess, I'll make some tea." She said as she whirled around and unlocked the door. She opened it. There was silence as everyone looked in. Tamaki let out a sigh.

Hikaru commented, "It's so small."

Tamaki quickly reached over and grabbed Hikaru's cheeks, stretching them angrily. "SHUT UP!" Everyone started to look around the apartment.

"A wood-built two bedroom unit. That's normal for a commoner family of two." Kyoya noted.

"Haruhi's such a pipsqueak," Kaoru began, looking around, "at least we know she won't hit her head on the low ceilings."

"I think it's a cute little room!" Haruhi then told Mitsukuni dryly,

"You don't have to struggle to compliment it." Akiko blinked at the Host Club members reactions, surprised.

"I don't see why you're all making a big deal about it. It's just an apartment room." Mitsukuni looked up at Akiko with big brown eyes, surprised.

"Wow~! You must come here often, huh, Kiko-Chan?"

"K-Kiko-Chan?" Akiko stuttered, her face turning a little red. "W-Well, sometimes..."

"Do we have to take our shoes off, Haru-Chan, Kiko-Chan?" Alex felt a little left out, but didn't say anything as she took off her shoes off.

Haruhi looked surprised at the question, and nodded, "U-Uh, yeah. If you please." Mitsukuni looked up at Mori excitedly.

"Hear that!? We have to take our shoes off! It's kinda like going to the dojo, huh?"

"Yeah."

Hikaru began, rather rudely, "Do you have any slippers for us, Haruhi?" Akiko cast Hikaru an annoyed look out of the corner of her eyes. _Doesn't he know any manners? You think him being an Hitachiin and a member of the Host Club, he'd know some. _Akiko's opinion of Hikaru kept decreasing and decreasing as the time went by.

"Wait," Kaoru started, noticing something. "The floor's covered with tatami mats!"

"Oh, that's convenient! In that case, we don't need slippers!" Hikaru exclaimed. He and his brother, along with Mitsukuni, started to walk in.

**"Great! Thanks for inviting us in!" **

Mori was next, walking behind Mitsukuni, and said, "Yeah, thanks."

Tamaki walked behind Mori, a smile plastered on his face, "It's greatly appreciated." Kyoya was right behind Tamaki, with Alex behind him and Akiko next to her.

"Yes, thanks, Haruhi."

"I'm so sorry!" Alex blurted out, unable to hold the apology in much longer. She stopped in front of Haruhi, clapping her hands together as she winced. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Kyoya called me earlier today and told me about Tamaki's plans and even if I wanted too, I'd of been unable to change his mind! Akiko agreed to come along to help me and Kyoya keep them behaved."

Akiko laughed nervously, running her fingers through her hair as she re-put it up. "Y-Yeah...Sorry about that, Haru-Chan. Alex invited me over and I couldn't say no."

Haruhi sighed. "It's fine...It's just _them _I don't want here. Damn rich people." Akiko and Alex wisely kept quiet about the fact that _they _were rich people, too. Alex, technically, was, seeing how she was recent turned an Hitachiin.

They walked back in, and that was when Tamaki realized something important, that was hiding under his nose the entire time. He shot up out of his kneeling position and screamed, pointing dramatically at a confused Akiko.

Mitsukuni seemed to realize the same thing and gasped, while Mori just stared. Kyoya looked at Alex with a look that clearly said that they needed to talk. The brunette tried to divert her gaze and act like she didn't see anything, but her red face and caught-stealing-cookies-from-the-cookie-jar look told everyone that she was busted.

"WHAT IS SHE DOING HEEEERE!?" Tamaki demanded, panicking. "Momma, Momma, why is there another girl here!? Does she know my precious Haruhi's secret!?" He grabbed Kyoya by the shoulders, shaking him back-and-forth. Somehow, Kyoya managed to keep his glasses on his face.

"According to my sources," A.K.A, Alex, "she does, and has known Haruhi's secret for quite a while."

"NOOOO! This can't be happening!"

"Eh, Kiko-Chan knows Haru-Chan's really a girl?"

Akiko butt in, narrowing her gray eyes, "If I didn't before, then I certainly do now. You guys aren't very good at keeping secrets, are you?"

Tamaki burst into tears. Haruhi was unable to dodge his surprise hug. "I'm so sorry, Haruhi! Daddy was unable to keep your secret-!"

"It's fine, Sempai! Now let go of me, already! You're hurting me!"

"WAAAAAHHHH!"

"DO YOU WANT ME TO MAKE TEA OR NOT, DAMN IT!?" Haruhi snapped, causing Tamaki to release her and to go mope in a corner, growing mushrooms as a depressed aura formed around him.

"Haruhi...hates me...She's angry...at me..."

"No, really?" Alex asked sarcastically, raising her eyebrows. "What ever gave you that idea?" Tamaki burst out crying again and the girl sighed. "I'm kidding...Haruhi doesn't hate you...mostly." Tamaki quickly regained his spirits and took his spot by the table, holding his knees to his chest.

"Oh, Haruhi!" Hikaru spoke up, stopping Haruhi before she could enter the kitchen, "Here's an idea. It's black tea that our father brought us from a souvenir from Africa. Here, try it." He handed it to Haruhi, who took it in surprise.

"Uh, sure, no problem."

Kaoru tried to be helpful and give advice, "It's best served as milk tea; do you have milk?"

"I think..." Haruhi placed a hand to her chin in thought, "When was the last time I bought some milk?"

Tamaki quickly grew horrified and reached out to the twins, putting them both in choke-holds. "What do you think you're doing!? Stop being so mean to her, you idiots!" Alex sighed from her spot beside Kyoya, having a feeling that Tamaki really was going to get hated by Haruhi, and even worse, her father.

What was supposed to happen again...?

"She doesn't even have a tea pot!" Kaoru, his brother, and Tamaki were all crying. "And she's too ashamed to tell us! I'm sorry Haruhi...you don't need to go to all that trouble...We don't need black tea...we'd be fine with a glass of water..." His voice was trembling as he extended a shaky hand towards the girl.

Haruhi looked at Kaoru in confusion. "What, why? It's no trouble. Besides, I've already made it." Haruhi had used a Kyusu teapot.

**"Oh. Well in that case..." **Tamaki quickly slung his arms around the twins' shoulders again, all of them sighing in relief.

"Man, that was close one, boss." Hikaru told the blonde as stress lines grew on his face.

"We have been rescued by Commoner's Wisdom..."

"What do you mean, sir?" Kaoru asked, and right before Tamaki could start explaining, Akiko interrupted.

"I'm sorry to intrude on your conversation, but you guys don't have to act so worried about every single little thing you do and say. Just be yourselves." Alex quickly moved from her spot to hug Akiko, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"You're wise! You have no idea how much I've missed you!"

"I missed you too, Alex!"

Meanwhile, everyone just stared at the two.

Hikaru was the first to comment, "You're still crazy, and I still don't trust you." Akiko pulled away from Alex and glared at Hikaru.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, freckles!"

"Freckles!?"

"Yeah, or haven't you notices the splash of freckles on your nose and beneath your eyes?"

"What about your anime-complex, Otaku!?"

"At least I have something to enjoy watching, rather than flirting with my brother every second of the day!"

"Why you-"

"Okay, both of you shut up now, before I smack you upside the head." Alex threatened, sending them both glares. Hikaru and Akiko looked surprised at Alex, before huffing and turning their heads away from each other. Alex sighed.

Kyoya spoke from his spot at a bookshelf, reading something, "While your antics are amusing, I don't understand your needs to argue at every given second. If Miss Urushihara proves to be untrustworthy, well, there's also my family's private police force of one hundred officers. Not to mention that Mori-Sempai and Honey-Sempai are both skilled in martial arts, so if she tried to run away, she'd have to deal with them. Oh, I'm sorry," Kyoya turned around to give Akiko a shit-eating grin, his usual closed-eye Shadow King smile, "Did I happen to forget to mention that not only my family, but the Morinozukas and the Haninozukas families alone are enough to put your family's work out of business? Please, do forgive my forgetfulness."

Alex sweatdropped at Kyoya's response, and Akiko looked like she was facing the barrel of a gun. And believe her, Alex knew how that felt, and Kyoya-well, his Shadow King smile alone was enough to send most people running for the hills.

"Anyway," Haruhi cut in, before things could become much worse, "The tea's ready. I'm sorry not all the cups match." She set down the cups on the table.

"Come on, Haru-Chan! You can choose your cake, first!" Mitsukuni told Haruhi, who was sitting next to him and Mori.

"Huh? You sure, Honey-Sempai?"

"Go ahead," Hikaru told her with a grin. "We're rich, we eat this kind of stuff all the time!" Tamaki and Kaoru quickly shushed Hikaru, causing the poor boy to clamp his hands over his mouth in embarrassment and shame. "I was trying to be considerate!"

Akiko felt like banging her head against a wall.

"Let's see...I'll have the strawberry."

**"So cute!" **Tamaki and twins whispered in unison, stunned.

"Then Haru-Chan, Takashi, and I are strawberry! Everyone else can eat what they want!" Mitsukuni declared cheerfully as he handed Haruhi her cake.

Akiko hesitated, not sure if she should grab a cake slice or not. Mitsukuni noticed her hesitation and asked, "What's wrong, Kiko-Chan?"

The twins and Tamaki stopped panicking to watch the scene.

"Are you sure it's alright if I take one?"

"Uh-huh! Yeah! Though..." Mitsukuni noticed something and frowned, "We're gonna be one cake short... I didn't grab one for Kyo-Chan, since I know he doesn't care for sweets, but I didn't know Kiko-Chan was coming...I-I'm sorry you guys...I-I didn't bring enough cakes..." He started to tear up, and Akiko instantly felt guilty.

"No, no, no, it's fine! It's fine Honey-Sempai! I won't have any cake! It's okay with me-"

"Hey, Akiko, you can have my slice if you want." Akiko looked at Alex surprised, before hesitating.

"You sure, Alex?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I don't like sweets that much anyway. You know that." Akiko nodded, before reluctantly grabbing a chocolate slice and sat down next to her friend.

"Huh?" Haruhi looked surprised when Mori suddenly started putting strawberries on her plate.

"You like strawberries, right? You can have mine." She looked surprised, before smiling warmly at him.

"That's nice of you Mori-Sempai! Thanks."

"Hmm." He smiled. Alex tried not to laugh when Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki all started to complain and hate themselves for not thinking of the idea of sharing strawberries with Haruhi.

Kyoya spoke, "Oh, Alex?" The girl tensed, and sent him a tense smile.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Do you mind if we talk later? It's about our earlier conversation." Shivers went down Alex's spine at the smile he gave her, which was signaling her doom. Kyoya was gonna kill her. _Maybe I'll get lucky and he won't? _She thought hopefully, but that hope quickly went down the drain when he widened his smile. _I'm screwed. _

"You alright, Alex?" Haruhi questioned, looking at the pale brunette. Alex looked at Haruhi with wide eyes and nodded.

"Y-Yeah! I'm fine!" Haruhi narrowed her eyes at Alex's response and looked at Kyoya, watching as he read a book. Haruhi only said one thing.

"Good Luck."

Before anyone could blink, Alex was in a depressed corner with her knees tucked up to her chest, mushrooms sprouting around her. "I think I already ran out..." Akiko offered a small smile while Haruhi said,

"Alex, stop growing mushrooms in the corner, please? I don't want to have to pick those up later." Alex quickly got back up and ran over to sit next to Akiko and Haruhi again.

Everyone quickly ate their cake, and Honey whined, "All that cake just made me hungrier~!" Hikaru glanced at his watch and commented in surprise,

"Yeah, it's already past lunchtime now!"

He, his brother, and Tamaki all tilted their heads and asked Haruhi in unison with smiles on their faces, **"Well, what's for lunch?" **Haruhi gave them a sour look.

"Will you guys quit being so happy-go-lucky all the time, please?"

Kyoya stood up and said, "We'll take care of it. We _did _drop in unexpectedly. So we'll pay for lunch," He continued as he went to grab his wallet, suggesting, "Why don't you just order all of us some of your favorite sushi?"

Haruhi stood up and said quickly, "Thanks, but no thanks! I know that if I let you guys pay, I'll only regret it later!" Kyoya's glasses flashed and covered his eyes as he held up a gold credit card.

"Oh, don't worry about it Haruhi. We'll just pay for it with the cash that we got from the photos of you that we auctioned off."

Haruhi hung her head, stress lines forming on her face, "So I'm really paying for it after all..." She sighed and inhaled deeply. "Well, if that's what you guys really want, then I do have a friend who runs this really nice sushi shop nearby. I can just give him a call. Their stuff's pretty high-quality." Tamaki's eyes widened and he quickly wrote something down on paper, before handing it to Haruhi. She took it and read it, and crushed it with her hand angrily as she gave him a dark look, tossing the paper behind her into a trashcan. "I'm _not _stupid. I could figure that out on my own."

Tamaki screamed. "How could you do that!?" He cried as tears streamed comically down his face. "Daddy even tried to look casual to not embarrass you!"

Mitsukuni looked up at Haruhi with big eyes, an adorable smile on his face as flowers bloomed around him. "I'd really love it if you'd make us something, Haru-Chan!" The twins and Tamaki looked panicked at Mitsukuni's words.

Haruhi placed a hand to her chin, looking down at him in thought. "I guess I could whip something up, but it would take me some time." Haruhi appeared to realize something and looked into the living room, "Hey, Alex, you want to help me?" The girl looked surprise.

"H-Huh? You sure?" Haruhi nodded.

"Yeah. It would be a good experience for you."

Alex grinned and stood up, "Yeah! That would be awesome!" Mitsukuni looked even more excited now.

"Lexi-Chan is gonna help Haru-Chan make food!? Yay! We can wait!"

The twins and Tamaki cried in joy. Akiko watched in utter confusion, Kyoya looked passive as ever, and Mori just sat there and watched the scene take place.

"I'm going to have to go to the supermarket," Haruhi said.

"We're coming with you!" Hikaru declared.

"We want to see a Commoner's Supermarket!" Kaoru agreed.

"Me too, me too!" Mitsukuni exclaimed.

Kyoya said, "This could be a learning experience."

Akiko groaned and said, "This is not gonna be good." Alex merely laughed and sweatdropped, while Haruhi sighed. Everyone but Haruhi and Tamaki left the apartment, and as they were heading down the stairs, Alex, Kyoya, and Akiko paused as they saw a woman with red hair wearing multiple shades of purple walk past them up the stairs.

"Is that...?" Kyoya began, and Alex finished his sentence for him.

"Ranka?" A wide grin sudden took over her face and she took up the stairs, running as fast as she could as everyone watched in confusion before following her. "RANKA!" She yelled, nearly tripping over her feet as she scrambled to get into the apartment. Ranka paused as he crushed Tamaki's face into the ground with his foot, turning his head to look at Alex.

A smile spread across his beautiful face. "Alex, dear! Come give me a hug!" He held his arms out and Alex quickly complied, rushing over and tackling the beautiful man in the hug. "I missed you so much! You haven't visit in days!"

"You're hardly here whenever I visit!" Alex responded, before pulling back and grinning at him, not noticing she was standing on Tamaki's back. "I love the outfit! You look amazing!"

"Oh, thank you, darling. You're pretty cute yourself today." Alex grinned, a light blush coating her face at the compliment.

"A-Alex...help...me..." Alex looked down at the ground beneath, finally realizing where she was standing. She screamed and stumbled backwards, crying out in pain as tripped and landed on her butt roughly. Her ankles hurt.

"Tamaki!" Ranka frowned and asked, putting more weight on his foot and pressing Tamaki's skull against the ground,

"You know this pest, Alex?"

"Y-Yeah, kinda..." She stammered, still on the ground. Hikaru and Kaoru poked their heads in, asking curiously,

**"Hey, Alex, why'd you rush up the stairs like that for? Where's the boss, anyway-?" **They cut themselves off, realizing the situation instantly. Ranka stepped off of Tamaki as the twins ran over and walked on the blonde, extending their hands out to Haruhi's dad. **"It's nice to meet you, Haruhi's dad. We're good friends of you daughter, and we also happen to be Alex's brothers, the Hitachiin brothers." **

"You're a transvestite, aren't you?" Hikaru asked.

Kaoru said, "You're the first real transvestite we've ever seen!" They looked down at Tamaki.

**"You finally put the moves on Haruhi, huh, boss?" **They questioned before looking back up at Ranka. They both smiled at him.

"Sorry about him; he's a lady's man, if you know what I mean."

"He's a pheromone machine! In fact, I bet he's fooled around with more ladies than you can count!" Both Haruhi and Alex were alarmed.

Ranka gained multiple tickmarks and asked with a smile, his voice deepening, "He liked to fool around, huh?"

"NOOOO!" Tamaki blurted, pushing himself up and knocking the twins off of him. "I'm not a ladies man-I'm a nice guy! I _care _about her!" The twins and Alex looked alarmed. Tamaki got on his hands and knees, bowing, "I'm being complete honest here! I care about Haruhi as if she's my own daughter!"

Alex groaned and fell back, laying on the floor as she stared up at the ceiling. She saw a flash of black and was suddenly pulled onto her feet. She blinked and looked behind her, and saw Kyoya staring down at her. He released her arm and placed his hands in his pockets. He watched the scene play out in front of him, and Alex felt a small twinge of disappoint that he didn't say anything to her.

Ranka's first impression of Tamaki was "He's an idiot". Soon, everyone walked in and sat around the table except Tamaki, who currently moping and growing mushrooms.

"I get it now! You all must be the Host Club I've heard so much about!" Ranka exclaimed. "You all are certainly a fine bunch of young-looking men! I'm not sure which one of you like best!" He smiled at Haruhi, Alex, and Akiko. "What about you girls?" Ranka took notice at how close Alex was sitting next to Kyoya and smiled, "Oh, I see now... Here, I'll tell you what-why don't you boys go ahead and call me Ranka? That's the professional name I use at the transvestite bar I work at."

Mitsukuni looked surprised. "Professional? You mean like a stage name?" Ranka smiled.

"Exactly like that, Mitsukuni."

"Hold on, how did you know my name, sir?"

Ranka smirked and listed off, "You two are third-years, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, and Takashi Morinozuka." He turned to the twins, "And you two are first-years in the same class as these girls; you're the Hitachiin twins-though I'm not sure which one of you is which." Ranka laughed and smiled. "I've heard a lot about you two!" They blinked in surprise and their eyes widened.

Kaoru was the one who spoke, "What, so Haruhi told you about us?"

"No," He replied with a smile, "Alex spoke about you boys a lot whenever you visited, and Kyoya told me about you over the phone!" Kyoya moved over and knelt in front of Ranka, pressing their hands together as they had smiles on their faces. "He also talked to me through email, but you're even more handsome than I imagined! Alex's descriptions did not do you justice!"

Kyoya's smile appeared to widen as he thought, _Alex talks about me to Ranka, does she? Interesting. _"You know, you're really a beautiful person, Ranka."

**"SAY WHAT!?" **Everyone but Mori exclaimed. Even Alex didn't know that Kyoya had been talking with Ranka. Tamaki reached over with a dark look on his face, clamping a hand on Kyoya's shoulder.

"Kyoya..." He warned. Kyoya had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"We've been entrusted with the care of his precious daughter," He explained, taking a sip of his tea. "It is only natural that we introduce ourselves and give him periodic reports. Ordinarily, that would be _your _job, wouldn't it?" Tamaki flew back, an arrow striking him in the chest. Of course, Kyoya also had wanted to see what the person Haruhi had for a father was like, and why Alex often spoke highly of him whenever she told him of her time at Haruhi's house during her visits.

"I'm impressed that the club has such a capable president," Ranka complimented Kyoya with a sweet smile, only to correct himself and say, "But wait a minute-you're only the _Vice _President, aren't you, Kyoya? I guess that president of yours is pretty much good-for-nothing, huh?"

"No, no, Ranka." Kyoya said, rather amused by this point.

"Uh, Kyoya..." Alex began, tapping the teen on his shoulder. Kyoya turned his head to look at her, and Alex opened her mouth to question, but was cut off by a fuming Haruhi.

"YOU NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT THIS, DAD! Why didn't you tell me that you've been contacting Kyoya-Sempai!?"

Ranka held a finger up to his bottom lip childishly, pouting. "What am I _supposed _to do, Haruhi? You rarely tell me anything about school!"

"So that makes it okay to talk behind my back!?" Haruhi then noticed Tamaki growing mushrooms in the closest and turned her head, glaring at him and snapping, "Come on, Sempai, would you please stop growing mushrooms in other peoples closets!"

"Haruhi..." Ranka began calmly, "the thing about you is..." He suddenly tackled his daughter in a hug, holding her tightly, "You're cute even when you're angry!"

"I don't know what is, but Haruhi's dad reminds me of someone," Hikaru commented with stress lines on his face. Kaoru frowned, despite the amusement he felt.

"He reminds of a couple people we know actually." How many people did he and his brother know that often hugged Haruhi and tackled her like that?

Two, maybe three if you count Akiko who has also been showing a habit of tackling the people she liked.

Kaoru continued, "This explains why she's so good at handling the boss and Alex." They watched as Haruhi finally managed to escape the super-doting parent grip her father had on her, and started to walk towards the apartment door.

"Wait, Haruhi, where are you going!?" He cried out, laying on the floor. She grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder.

"The supermarket, okay? I need to go shopping and I want to do it myself. So all of you stay here and just try and behave yourselves." She said and closed the door behind her, leaving.

"WAIT!" Hikaru cried out, just as the door closed, "We want to go to the Commoner's Supermarket!" Akiko was about ready to scold him, but Ranka beat her to it with a smile.

"I wouldn't push it. Once she's made her mind up, she'll never change it." Ranka gained a sad smile as he sat at the table, "When she decided to go to Ouran Academy, she did all the enrollment papers by herself. While I respect her independent spirit, I wish she'd depend on me a little more sometimes. I hope you all know how grateful I am. Since she's found all of you, she seems to be happier. Like she's enjoying herself. Wouldn't you agree, Tamaki Suoh?"

Tamaki hit his head against the closest door as he pulled the mushrooms off of him with a hopeful smile. "You know who I am?"

"Well of course I do," He replied as he looked at the blonde. "Haruhi's told me a thing or two about you. You're the Host Club's bumbling president, right?" Tamaki started to cry again.

Kyoya held a hand up to his chin, thinking. _So, Haruhi talks about the Host Club at home after all... _

"Come to think of it," Ranka continued as he spoke to Tamaki, "You're the one who didn't realize Haruhi was a girl until the very last moment, weren't you? You're clueless, aren't you?" Tamaki busted out into unrelenting waves of tears as he stood, running out of the apartment screaming.

"I'M A WORTHLESS HUMAN BEEEEEIIIIIIIIIING!" Alex stood up, prepared to chase after him.

"Tamaki-!"

"_ACK!_ He's getting away!" Hikaru cried out. "Grab him!"

"Boss!" The Hitachiin siblings were all prepared to chase after him, but Ranka pulled them back down.

"There, there. Now, seeing how all the introductions are out of the way," Ranka said as he placed his tea cup back down on the table. He gave a seductive smile and asked, "How would you all like to have a little _fun_?"

...

"This is what you meant by "fun"?" Kyoya questioned, watching as Tamaki clung to Haruhi's dress as she led him to the way to the supermarket, promising him that she was going to cook _Nabe_ with lots of beef. Alex should have expected this from Ranka, really, she should have.

"Yes," Ranka replied with a smile. He had a scarf covering his face and was wearing sunglasses, "I call it the "Stalking Game"!"

People on the street started whispering, talking about how attractive the group was.

Ranka continued, "In all honesty, I have a completely selfish reason for bringing you all out with me." He pulled down his sunglasses to look ahead of him at Haruhi and Tamaki, brown eyes identical to Haruhi's. "I wanted to see with a bunch of cute teen boys and a couple of pretty teenage girls!"

The twins spoke in unison, sweat beading down their faces at the resemblance, **"Sure enough, those three are cut from the same cloth." **

"Who are you guys talking about?" Akiko questioned, causing them to look down at her. Hikaru scowled at her and Kaoru smiled, shrugging.

"No one in particular," The nicer one of the two told her. Hikaru snapped,

"It's none of your business, so butt out!"

"It was just a question, jerk-face!" She growled. By the time they got to the Supermarket, everyone had split up.

Akiko went with Alex to look around, Kyoya in tow, and the twins found a cart and started to push it around, laughing. Mori was giving Mitsukuni a piggy back ride, and Ranka was trying to locate Haruhi and Tamaki.

"Alex, can I talk to you in private for a moment?" Alex flinched and looked at Akiko, who quickly stalked off. Alex was about to cry in protest, but Kyoya grabbed her wrist and dragged her away to the back of the store where no one from the Host Club would be able to hear their conversation.

"Why didn't you tell me that Haruhi's secret was found out?" He demanded, giving a look as he tightened his grip on her wrist.

"I-It was never brought up! I figured you'd of had figured it out by the way Akiko talked to Haruhi about girl things, so I never mentioned it!" Kyoya loosened his grip on her, leaning closer and hovering over her as she found herself pressed up against a wall. This was starting to become a pattern. "H-Hey, K-Kyoya..." Her voice squeaked a little, "Um, sh-shouldn't we be getting back to the others?" Alex loved being alone with Kyoya, but sometimes these positions can become too much for her too quickly. She wasn't used to such close contact, nor relationships.

Kyoya pulled back and sighed, before looking behind him and analyzing the people crowding around the aisles. "Honda, Tachibana, and Aijima are with Tamaki right now, so that should give me time to do this one thing." She looked up at him curiously with big brown eyes, and Kyoya felt a warmth in his chest at the sight of them.

"What's that?" He eyed her for a moment, observing her, before placing a hand on one of her shoulders and leaning down, kissing her on the forehead. He then gently grabbed her chin, lifted her head, and kissed her. It was a short kiss, but it still left Alex's brain fuddled and confused.

"Come on." He said, grabbing her hand and leading her away, "We need to find Tamaki before he does something stupid again."

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE!?" Haruhi screamed at Hikaru and Kaoru as Alex and Kyoya neared them. The twins laughed and ran, splitting up in case Haruhi or Tamaki tried to chase them. They watched as Aijima spoke to a stunned Tamaki.

"Master Tamaki, you wish to taste some samples? It would be most unfortunate if something happened to one of Master Kyoya's friends."

"T-Tachibana...Aijima...Honda..."

"B-Bodyguards!?" Haruhi shrieked, alarmed.

Hikaru was still running when he heard Akiko arguing with a man. He slowly stopped laughing and turn his run into a walk, listening-as if Akiko was going to tell someone Haruhi's secret.

"I told you for the last time, Touma-no! I'm not going out with you!"

"Come on, Akiko, I'll make it worth it!" Hikaru stopped his walking and spied from a shelf at the end of the aisle. No one else seemed to be paying them any attention, too busy with their shopping and making sure their kids didn't run off. A man with shaggy brown hair and dark eyes was gripping Akiko's lower arm tightly. The girl was scowling at him. The man gave her a grin, tugging her towards him, "You won't regret it!"

"I said no!"

"Just give me a chance!" The man said and forcefully grabbed her shoulders, leaning towards her. Hikaru narrowed his eyes at the situation, and despite his dislike for the girl, wasn't going to let something like this happen.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let you get it on with my girlfriend." An arm wrapped itself around Akiko's waist and pulled her away from the strange man. The guy's eyes widened, and Akiko looked at Hikaru with wide eyes. "I don't know how you know her, but I'm _not _going to let you touch her."

"What? Since when did you have a boyfriend, Akiko?"

"Don't call me by my name so familiarly!" The girl snapped, glaring at him with angered gray eyes. She placed a hand against Hikaru's arm, playing along with Hikaru's game. "I'll have you know we've been dating for a month now, so if you don't leave me alone this instant, I'll put your family's farm out of business."

The man scowled and took a few steps back, glaring at Hikaru, who gazed at him coolly with caramel eyes. "Yeah, well, I'm not scared of you! _Or _you're little boy-toy! I'll be back for you, you know! Just you wait!" He ran off, and people finally seemed to notice the commotion. Hikaru quickly released Akiko like he was on fire, causing the girl to stumble forwards. He crossed his arms, refusing to look at her and resulted in glaring at a shelf of Pocky.

Akiko caught her self and turned to look at Hikaru, still surprised at what he did for her. She figured he wasn't all bad-even if he did practically push her way once the one guy left. "Thanks for that...Hikaru?" She asked, certain that was who he was. Hikaru scowled and muttered,

"Don't thank me. You just looked like you needed some help, that's all. Pathetic." Suddenly Haruhi ran over and started to push the two of them towards the exit, the rest of the Host Club in front of them and complaining.

"Out, out, all of you, out! Go back to the apartment already! I'll be right out as soon as I pay for these!"

"H-Hey, Haruhi!" Alex whined.

...

Sometime later, Haruhi managed to finish cooking the _Nabe_.

"Here Tamaki! Have some more Chrysanthemum! You're favorite!" Ranka said, placing more and more of it on Tamaki's food. The blonde had tears streaming down his face.

"Hey, don't eat all the beef!"

"This is amazing!"

"I wanted to help cook..." Alex sniffed, tears streaming down her face in a comical fashion. The twins laughed at her, and Kyoya said,

"So this is what you call home cooking...Maybe when you're talented enough, we could all visit again and you can cook for us, Alex."

"M-Maybe..."

"Can you pass the napkins, please? Thank you."

"Haru-Chan's cooking is yummy!"

"Yeah."

"I'm impressed.

**Rather lack-luster ending and OOC stuff going on, but it's the best as I can managed right now. I hope you guy liked the chapter. **


	22. Short Story Extra: Pained Relations

Alex walked through the woods, uncertain of where it was she was heading. She wore a black-and-purple Victorian styled dress with a corset and shoulders that puffed out. Her sleeves covered her hands and fanned out, giving an impression of that resembling a princess. On her face was a masquerade mask, black, with purple feathers on the edges at the corners near her eyes, decorated with emerald and amethyst jewels. The dress looked gothic, and stopped at her knees. She wore black-and-purple Victorian boots with heels to go with. On her hands were black gloves that stopped just below her elbows, and she had a black choker with purple ruffles around her neck.

She had feeling that she was heading to a party of some sort, and that she was going to be late if she didn't get there soon. She started to run, breathing heavily as she pushed branches out of her way and ran down a dirt-covered path. Her hair, which was done up in a french braid, was slightly messed up.

_I need to get there... _She thought, _I don't know why, but something is telling me I should. _

"Whoa! Look out, miss!" A man cried out, and Alex turned her head in time to see a carriage rushing at her with horses at full speed. Screaming, the brunette rushed out of the way and into the grass, nearly catching her dress on the bushes. The horses whinnied loudly in protest as the driver pulled the carriage to a halt. "Are you alright, ma'am?"

**"What happened!?" **Two voices demanded, the carriage doors opening. Two men, nearly identical, stepped out. They were both dressed formally, with brown vests and tan shirts underneath. They were darker brown slacks with a dress shoes, and top hats on their heads. From what she could tell, they had orange hair and caramel, almost amber, colored eyes. Her guess was that they were brothers. Their mask were almost the same, both colored white, but decorated with different colored jewels. The one on the left had orange, while the right wore blue.

The orange quickly strolled over and extended a hand to her, asking kindly with a smile, "May I?" Alex hesitantly nodded and grabbed his hand, allowing him to pull her back onto the road and away from the grass. "My name is Kaoru, miss. Kaoru Hitachiin. This is my twin brother," He gestured to the man who had exited the carriage with him, "Hikaru Hitachiin. We are deeply sorry for nearly hitting you with our carriage." He then seemed to realize something, his eyes widening in surprise. "Are you perhaps on the way to the Ouran Ball?"

"The...Ouran Ball?" The name sounded distantly familiar to her, and it rolled off her tongue easily.

Hikaru spoke, "Yeah. The Suoh's and the Ootori's, two of the wealthiest families, invited everyone from everywhere to the ball to search for a bride. Of course, that's only if you catch their eye. I think you'll impress someone there."

Kaoru chuckled and raised a hand gently to her chin, lifting her head up to look at him, "Indeed. You have quite a pretty face. It would be a shame if something would to mar it." As if on instinct, Alex backed away and stumbled, catching herself in time to avoid falling into mud as she placed a hand on her jawline. And as if she could feel something there, she traced a curved line from her jawline to her chin, frowning. Nothing. How odd. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No, nothing. I am fine." Her voice sounded weird to her. Was she talking differently? In fact, where these boys speaking differently? But how would they, and if they were, how would she know? She had just met them. Strange. "I must get going. I do not wish to be late to this...ball, we speak of."

**"How about a lift?" **They offered, grinning at her. **"It would only be proper, seeing how we nearly ran you over with our carriage and all." **Alex nodded hesitantly, following them to the vehicle. Kaoru extended a hand to her, and she took it as she climbed up into the vehicle. She sat down, flattening her poofy dress with her hands.

The twins climbed in and the doors closed, and the horses quickly took off towards the palace.

"It's nice seeing you dress up like this for once," Kaoru commented, causing Alex to look at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Hikaru was the one who answered.

"We mean that you wear boy clothes so much, we hardly ever get to see you dress like an actual girl."

"It's not my fault that I'm not that pretty with a scar going across half my face!" She snapped, crossing her arms and huffing as she turned to look out the carriage window. The twins looked surprised, before looking at each other in confusion.

**"What scar?" **They asked each other, but Alex didn't hear them. Soon, the carriage stopped, and they teens all got out. The twins held out their arms to the brunette, and Alex hesitantly took them, not completely sure what was going on anymore.

What was this Ouran Ball about, really? Was it only to find a bride for the wealthy sons of the wealthiest families in Japan?

"Invitations?" A guard asked. Alex narrowed her eyes as she read his name tag. Tachibana. Suddenly, Alex felt something in her hand. She looked down in confusion and opened the lavender letter.

_You have been invited to the Ouran Ball, _

_where ladies from all over the world come_

_to have a good time. Only this year is a _

_special event. This year, if someone happens _

_to catch one of the "Bachelor's" eyes, and _

_she reciprocates, that young lady will have _

_the special honor to become that young _

_man's bride. Men are allowed to come as well, _

_of course, if they so desire. _

_Sincerely- Kyoya Ootori _

"Ah, you got one of the lavenders!" Kaoru exclaimed in awe. He and his brother held up his letters, which were colored pure white. "Ours were from Tamaki Suoh. You must be favored highly to receive a lavender." Alex looked up in confusion.

"The letters are colored in rank?"

"In a way," Hikaru explained, looking down at her. "It mainly depends on your relationship status with them in the real world. Kaoru received a lavender one last year."

"The real world?" Hikaru's eyes widened, as if he was caught saying something he wasn't supposed to say.

"Nothing! Come on, show him your letter." Alex held up the lavender invitation to Tachibana, who nodded.

"You may proceed." Alex slowly entered the room, finding everything pitch black. Suddenly, candles lit up around her, forming a path down a dimly lit hallway, rose petals falling slowly as beautiful and warm violin music played in the background. She had no idea where the twins went. She couldn't hear their footsteps, and when she looked behind her, they weren't there. As she walked down the hallway, the room seemed to get brighter, and her vision cleared.

Soon, she was found standing in a ballroom where hundreds of elegantly dressed men and women were dancing.

_CRASH! _

Alex whirled around to see a girl with short brown hair wearing a white mask with rubies embroidered on it standing over a broken vase. She was wearing a crimson red dress with ruffles and sleeves that clung to her arms, but revealed her shoulders. The sides of her hair was braided.

"I-I-I-I'm so sorry! I-I can pay you back, I swear!" The girl cried out, apologizing profusely to a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a red mask with white jewels-opals?- decorated on it and white tuxedo. He reached over and grabbed the girl's hand, holding it up to his lips and kissing her knuckles.

"It is alright, my dear. However, I'm too sure you would have the money to pay for that vase. It was a one-of-kind and worth more than your dress or the rubies on your mask. My dear, I'm afraid that you're going to have to marry me."

"W-What?"

Suddenly someone ran into Alex's legs, causing the girl to look down in surprise. It was a little blonde boy with honey-colored eyes. He wore a white tuxedo and pink tie, with a pale pink mask. He was holding a pink stuffed rabbit. He stepped away from Alex in surprise, looking at the girl apologetically.

"I'm so sorry, miss! Please forgive!"

"Ah, it's alright. Are you okay?" She knelt down in front of him, smiling. "You're not hurt, are you?" The boy shook his head.

"I'm okay. Ah! Usa-Chan! Usa-Chan, are you alright?" He looked at his bunny rabbit, looking for any tears or cuts. Finding none, he relaxed. He then grew excited, beaming up at the brunette, "Have you tried this place's cake yet!? They're really yummy! Come on, come on, this way!" He grabbed her wrist and started to drag her towards the dining table, which was littered with sweets. Cakes, cookies, cupcakes, pies, croissants-everything. "The strawberry cake is the best!"

"Mitsukuni." A deep voice spoke, causing the blonde boy to stop running and release Alex. He looked and saw a six-foot tall man looking down at him with a blank face.

"Takashi!" He exclaimed happily, running and tackling the man. The boy giggled and the man raised him up and let him sit on his shoulder. "I met this really nice lady! I like her! Think you guys can be friends?"

Takashi looked down at Alex, observing the girl for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah." He then added, still blank-faced, "She seems nice." Mitsukuni smiled brightly, giving a closed-eye smile. He was adorable.

Alex watched as the two walked away, and turned to look at the table full of sweets. Hesitantly, she picked up chocolate chip cookie. She bit out of it and her eyes widened in surprise. It was good. Not the best, but still rather good. It had a nice flavor.

"Excuse me," A voice said as a hand reached over and grabbed a cookie from the basket Alex had grabbed hers from. The man pulled out a cookie and bit into, chewing slowly. "Not bad for your first time baking, Alex. Would it make you feel better if I told you it had a nice taste?"

The girl's face flushed red. "Wh-What? I-I didn't bake these?" The man's eyes widened in surprise before he smiled coolly.

"Are you sure? I remember specifically the day you and another young lady tried to teach a girl how to bake. You made chocolate chips, and you let me try one."

"I-I don't-"

_She raised the basket up to him, "Cookie? They're not burnt or anything." Kyoya blinked down at her, one of the only three wise people who chose not to eat Renge's cookies, and grabbed one, biting into it._

_She looked up at him, anticipation growing, "W-Well, how is it? I never really actually baked anything before..."_

_"It's not terrible, I'll give you that." Alex pouted childishly, not liking that response._

_"That tells me nothing!" She flinched when she saw his hand come towards her face, but relaxed when it rested on her head._

_"Would it make you feel better if I said it had a good flavor?" Alex nodded,_

_"Yes, yes it would."_

_"Then there you go."_

Alex was standing there, her eyes wide. What was that? Why didn't she remember any of that happening? "K-Kyoya?" She questioned, testing the name out on her tongue. To her surprise, she liked the sound of it, and something inside her chest fluttered. She felt warm, and her heart was racing just a beat or two faster.

The man smiled at her, before bowing and extending a hand to her, "May I have this dance...fair maiden?" Alex hestitated, and said,

"I can't dance..." The man seemed to smirk as he gave a low chuckle.

"Then I can simply teach you as I have done before. Trust me, you'll remember." Not giving her a chance to reply, he took her hand in his much larger one and led her to the dance floor, placing one hand one her waist, and placing one of her hands on his shoulder. "Slide your foot like this...then step back...Yes, very good, Alex. Now remember, it's one, two, three. One, two, three..."

She didn't know how long they danced, but she loved it. She knew this man, but couldn't name him. She knew his personality, but didn't know him. He was so very familiar, but such a stranger at the exact same time. Who was he, exactly? Kyoya who?

_"We're friends...right?" _

Suddenly, Alex felt a hand cup her cheek, a thumb brushing away the tears that streamed down her cheeks.

_"I believe that's the correct term, yes." _

The man frowned at her, his gray eyes observing her for a moment and taking in every single detail of her face, before gently grabbing her hand and leading her away from all the people.

_"What-What are we?" _

He led her beneath a staircase, where no one would be able to see them.

_"What do you want us to be?"_

Gently, the man reached over and grabbed her mask, slowly lifting it off of her face. She blinked multiple times, fluttering her eyelashes as she tried to stop the tears from falling down her face. She reached up with her hands to wipe them away, but the man grabbed her wrists and leaned down, kissing her eyes where the tears came. He cupped her face with one hand and kissed her softly on her cheek, his eyes closing. Alex bit her lip, eyes closed, as he then kissed her forehead.

"_I want us to be together,_" She said and reached up, grabbing the lapels of his coat. She leaned up and kissed his mouth, tears flowing down her face. She wanted to be with him, and it hurt having to pretend that they weren't. Were they just friends with benefits? Was that all they were? How long were they going to have to keep this up?

She pulled away from him and reached up, lifting the mask off of his face and revealing his true identity. Kyoya Ootori, of the Ootori's. The man she loved, but couldn't be with because everything would fall apart. And now, they were back again at the usual position.

_Why is it nothing can happen without it being painful?_ She wondered.

Her eyes shot open, and Alex sat up with tears streaming down her face. Raising her hands up to her face, she cried as silently as she could, her chest aching painfully as she thought about Kyoya and why things were happening the way they were.


	23. Halloween 31st and BONUSES

**HEADS UP! LAST CHAPTER WAS AN "ALEX IN WONDERLAND" THING, JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T GET IT AND ARE VERY CONFUSED. I'm sorry that it didn't make much sense, but I was tired and it was late and it was school night. I'm also sick currently, so whatever happens might be just as confusing. Oh, well. **

**Anyway, big stuff WILL Be happening. Truth just made an appearance, foretold a possible death of Alex, and what's with her cough? Why has no one been questioning that? I've been waiting for a "Why does she keep coughing"? I'll tell you why-**

**Ha. Got you. Anyway~! Big stuff planned. Don't plan on stopping, but there will be long intervals of which I won't be updating because of procrastination, make-up work, being a freshman, unrequited love-and life. The suckiness of life. OH! OH! OH! Do you guys like Heart no Kuni no Alice? **

**I'm doing a "possibly fanfic" for that on my quotev, too, and might be updating the "Madness in a Fairytail" Or "Part of a Fairy Tail" I forget what I actually called it, XD, and I'm also working on the Kinji Rareta Unmei-Amy just found out Senri was a vampire-DUN, DUN, DUN! and blacked out from blood loss. Also, I'm trying to get Ryan to get the flipping page back from Miss Gerber, who's apparently a jerk, which I need to finish typing his part of the PJO story Darkness Beyond Sun. This is why I work alone. Ugh. I know I'm complaining a lot, but...**

**RAWR. RAWR! **

**Okay, I'm done. Internet rant, over. Please read, and please comment. This might be a bit weird. But...**

**It's important.**

**October 31st, 2014**

Halloween. Alex loved this day. It was the day she met her "siblings". On Halloween Night...

"Someone got cursed?" Nekozawa questioned, Alex walking by his side into the classroom curiously. Since it was Halloween, all the classes have been cancelled. Alex reached up and tugged on Nekozawa's sleeve, causing him to look down at the small brunette curiously. "What is it, _Alex?_" His voice deepened, giving it a creepier tone as he said the girl's name. She grinned and asked,

"Since it's Halloween, could I wear one of the Black Magic Club's costumes?" Nekozawa grinned at the question, and he motioned Beelzenef with his hand, clapping the puppet's small hands together as it smiled with a blush on its face.

"Of course... Fufufufu..." Alex grinned widely, her eyes gleaming childishly. She resisted the urge to tackle him. However, it didn't last for long and she quickly tackled him, grinning widely as she wrapped her arms around his waist. A strangled gasp escaped his lips in surprise as he awkwardly held his arms out, staring down at the small girl who was hugging him. "A-Alex?"

"Oh!" Alex realized who exactly it was she was hugging-the shy, recluse Umehito Nekozawa. It wasn't that Nekozawa _hated _hugs, or people, he was just not used to such contact from people. However, Alex has been trying to get him to come out of his shell a little more often the past few months, and he was slowly getting used to her random hugs. She still tried to hold back from tackling him, however, like she often did with the twins, Kyoya, Haruhi, Akiko, and Mitsukuni. She pulled away and smiled sheepishly at him, grinning as she scratched her left arm nervously. "S-Sorry..."

He slowly began to relax as she pulled away, and Beelzenef happened to be a dark shade of red at this point. "It's...fine... I'm just not used to such...endeavors from creatures of light such as yourself." She looked up at him, and smiled.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short because "You're a creature of _darkness_"." She attempted to deepen her voice to add a creepier affect, making clawing motions with her hands in the air. She laughed and held her arms up in the air, practically jumping up and down at this point. "Gah! You have no idea how much I love Halloween! It's the best-holiday-EVER!"

You could only see the grin from beneath his cloak as his blue eyes shown underneath the darkness. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a black bag, holding it out to a confused Alex who was staring up at him. "It is a good thing that I had brought this... I know how you _appreciate _the _dark arts_ like I do... Here." She took the bag in surprise, and barely had time to react when Nekozawa suddenly moved over and clamped a hand on a scared Haruhi's shoulder.

"N-Nekozawa-Sempai!" The twins had dressed the petite girl in a children's witch costume.

"According to my oracles, approaching such a curse head-on means _certain death_." Alex froze from her spot near the wall, remembering Truth's words from before.

_"You won't die too soon..."_

"The Witch's Curse is only effective on Halloween day...and to receive such a curse...I'm envious of Haruhi-Chan...If possible, I'd like to receive it instead?"

Alex's face deadpanned as she watched a giant gust of wind fly into the classroom and knock the wig and hood off of Nekozawa's head. Umehito screamed in complete and utter horror, pained.

"_AAAAAAAAHHHHHH! CURSE, I BE OF THEE! RETURN THYSELF TO HARUHI FUJIOKA!" _

"_Aaaand_ he's gone." Alex muttered, face-palming as she watched Nekozawa run away in terror, hiding in the custodian's closet. She sighed and opened the back, surprised at the sight of an old Victorian Maid dress that was black-and-white, accompanied with a small black-and-white maid beret. There were a lot of ruffles, and even a corset, but the dress was beautiful all in itself.

And the shoes. The goddamned shoes.

Alex wasn't sure whether she should hate them or be totally in love with them. They were black. Alex loved the dress. Nekozawa was a god.

Alex looked around for a few moments, found a really big desk, climbed in it, and proceeded to change. Unfortunately for her, someone opened the cabinet when she was in the process of putting on the corset.

"A-Alex?" Kaoru stammered, his face turning a red color when he found her half-naked in her undergarments and trying to tie a corset on. Her face flushed dark red and it took all her willpower not to scream. Kaoru quickly diverted his eyes and cleared his throat, looking around the room and making sure no one else was watching. He whispered at her quickly, "What are you doing in here!?"

"I-I'm trying to change into the costume Nekozawa gave me..." She swallowed, feeling a lump form in her throat. This was incredibly awkward-even more so since they weren't actually siblings-adopted or no. "I-I'm having trouble with-with the corset..."

Kaoru hesitated, but turned his gaze towards the tangled strings that Alex was trying to tie behind her back, her arms bent behind her lower back with her dark brown hair falling past her shoulders and framing her round face... He didn't realize how slim Alex actually looked until then. And how..._girly _she looked with that red splashed across her cheeks and the way she was trying to tie the strings together. Something fluttered in his chest and his fingers twitched. He quickly turned his head, cursing himself for being a guy, and reluctantly asked, "Do...Do you need help?" God, he swore his voice cracked. Alex was supposed to be his _sister_! What was going on with him?

"That...That'd be n-nice?" It came out as a question, and her voice squeaked a little. Alex wished it was Kyoya instead of Kaoru, who had caught her in this sort of situation, but she knew Kaoru wouldn't try to do anything. It was just awkward...for both of them. Alex was an only child, biologically, and yes, she had grown used to the twins tackling her and waking her up in the mornings by tickling her when they were both shirtless, but _she _was _not _used to being caught half-naked. She was practically in her underwear.

Kaoru nodded and looked around again, still not look directly at Alex, before motion for her to move the dress and scoot forward. Her face turned dark red as she quickly released one of the strings with her right hand and frantically brought her arm to her chest, making sure the corset wouldn't fall and expose what was left of her dignity. His throat felt dry, and Alex could feel the nervousness creeping up her spine. She then used her left hand to move the bag the dress was in forward, before doing the same with the boots, and scooting farther into the cabinet. Being a kitchen, it was surprisingly large, and for some reason _very_ empty.

The young male teen climbed in after her and tried to ignore the warmth he felt coming off of her skin. He felt sweat form on his face as he reached forward and slowly, agonizingly slow, began to tie the laces on the corset. Alex flinched when his cold hands touched a part of her back.

"Sorry!" He apologized quickly, flinching. Kaoru was not used to this kind of situation. He was used to compromising positions with his brother, as it was part of their _work_, but with the girl he considered a sister? They weren't even blood-related! Kaoru tried to keep his thoughts under control. He was a host, and Alex may be his adopted-key word, _adopted_-sister, but he was still a guy...and it was natural to be attracted to the opposite sex when they weren't _really _your family, right? _What the hell is happening to me, Hikaru? _Kaoru wondered, a pained expression on his face as he finished the last of the laces. He felt his hand linger longer than it should have and yanked back his arm, whirling around and leaving the cabinet before a nervous Alex could turn to see his red expression. "I-I'm done! H-Hurry up and get changed! I'll-I'll just wait here and-and make sure no one else sees you. Okay?"

She nodded slowly, her face still a little red, and stammered, "Y-Yeah, sure..." However, that wasn't really what she was worried about. He'd seen the full extent of her scars. He'd seen the scars from her shoulder reach down onto her back, he'd seen the scar on her hip, and worst of all...He'd seen the scar on the back of her neck. She reached a hand up and placed it over it, wincing as tears formed in her eyes. Her hands had a couple scars on them from when she tried to cook, but kept cutting herself while trying to chop food up or doing the dishes when she was thinking about why things were happening the way they were.

Suddenly, a violent cough sent her shaking, hacking as she leaned against the wall of the cabinet for support. She felt a little light headed, and her vision was a bit dazed, but she soon felt well enough to finish putting on the dress.

The dark dress clung to her top and flared out at the waist, stopping at her knees with black ruffles. Alex wore a pair of white socks that went up to her calves and a pair of plain black slippers. At the top of the dress was a white collar with a black bow, tied at the chest. She quickly climbed out of the cabinet with the bag in her hand, and fixed the beret in her hair. Kaoru turned his head and relaxed greatly at the sight of her fully-clothed, and had to admit that she looked rather cute in such an outfit. It reminded him of a gothic-lolita type of outfit.

_Won't Sempai be surprised? _He thought, frowning when he realized he wasn't very amused by that thought anymore. He stared down at Alex, who was fiddling with her hair and trying to make sure it was positioned straight. Before Kaoru even realized what he was doing, he had leaned down and tucked some hair behind her ear, smiling, as he fixed the small beret and centered it perfectly. He then brushed some of the hair out of Alex's eyes and smiled.

She blinked surprised, not expecting Kaoru to suddenly fix her hair for her, but figured it was only natural since his mother was a fashion designer. She smiled widely at him and said, "Thanks!" He nodded and turned around, slapping her on the back. She blinked at the sudden action, stumbling forward. "Kaoru? What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Just...Kyoya-Sempai's waiting for you in the club room with all the guests... You gained quite a few more admirers, Alex."

"I have?" She asked in confusion. The main people she ever remembered visiting her was Daichi and...Nagihiko, who had actually stopped. He and Akiko went out for a few months, two at the most, but stopped. Akiko and Hikaru are actually getting along now-how she doesn't know, but they're..."Nicer" to each other, now, then they were before. They still argue, but not as constant, and aren't totally hating on each other. "Oh!" The realization hit and she asked, holding up a finger, "You mean Kento and Yuki, right? And Jounouchi and Rin?"

"Yeah. Just...go." Alex frowned, not sure why Kaoru was acting this way towards her. Was it...

Her heart clenched and she turned around, walking away with a dark expression on her face. _Of course... He hates me. I'm a monster, after all... He's seen the scars at full... _She knew it. She was hideous. Not even her so-called brother loved her. So what would happen if Kyoya saw her like that?

The thought nearly made Alex break out into tears, and it took all her willpower to force a strong face. Kyoya wouldn't hate her. He wouldn't...

_But he might. Kyoya isn't known for his affection for others. He might turn around and leave... _

But that time at the ice cream shop, when those girls were making fun of her... He had turned around and pulled her to him, acting like they were a couple-when they were not, which they still technically _aren't_...and told her to ignore those girls.

_But_, what if Kyoya suddenly changes his mind and starts to hate her? Alex doesn't...she _wouldn't _survive that. She might actually break, then.

"Lexi-Chan!" Alex let out a small scream when Mitsukuni, dressed in a wolf's costume, suddenly ran up and tackled her around the waist, laughing giddily. "You look so cute in that outfit! Right, Takashi? Isn't Lexi-Chan cute?"

"Yeah." Alex looked up at Mori from her spot on the floor, surprised to see him in what appeared to be a sort of dog costume.

Mitsukuni looked up at Alex with a beaming face, but his eyes slowly dimmed when he looked into hers. He could see behind the smile, the mask she put up. He could see through her just as well as he could anyone else, Kyoya included-the master of masking oneself. Kyoya and Alex both held masks, for reasons very similar to each other but for reasons also very different to each other. Mitsukuni and Tamaki were probably the only ones who could see it, if not Kyoya and Alex seeing it in each other.

"What's the matter, Lexi-Chan? You look sad." Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Wh-What? What are you talking about, Mitsukuni?" She laughed, sounding truly surprised at his question. "I'm perfectly fine. I'm just heading to the Club room. Kaoru said-" She nearly paused, and both he and Mori noticed. "-that Kyoya wanted to talk to me. Most likely about the preparations for the Halloween ball. For all we know, Tamaki might have gone overboard again and we need to cut down on some things 'cause of the budget-" She was cut off when Mitsukuni suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her neck, hugging her tightly. "M-Mitsukuni?"

He frowned sadly, hating it when one of his friends were sad. "Don't be upset, Lexi-Chan... Usa-Chan, and Kao-Chan, and Hika-Chan, and Tama-Chan, and even Kyo-Chan get upset when you're hurting...Haru-Chan, Takashi, and I do too! So don't be sad, Lexi-Chan... You're much cuter when you're happy."

Alex tensed, stunned at his words. Those words were something that a little brother might say to an older sister whom he respected a lot and cared for, but in reality this was probably the other way around. An older brother speaking to his younger sister... She felt a small smile form on her face and she reached a hand up to ruffle Mitsukuni's hair, grateful to have him and Mori, and all the other Hosts in her life.

Even if her life might be cut short, she was going to live it to the fullest.

She returned the hug, ignoring the tears that were trying to well up in her eyes, and mumbled, "Thanks, Mitsukuni..." She blinked and her eyes opened, startled, when she felt Mori patting her head.

"Yeah. Smile."

Was it just her, or was it Mori and Mitsukuni who were the ones to cheer her up more often than not? Heh. She smiled widely at them, beaming as she gave a closed-eyed grin. "Okay! I'll try too. And I better get going before Kyoya gets mad at me for being late and he's not very friendly when I'm late..." She laughed nervously and scratched her left arm.

Mitsukuni's eyes trailed over to said arm and eyed the action, having long long ago noticed the difference. He hadn't asked, he never bothered, but he was curious. He wanted to know why her arm was suddenly usable after such damage, and only a few months after her surgery. The year was almost over, and yet... As much as she trusted them, her eyes were hiding many things. He wasn't the only one who had noticed; he knew Takashi and Tamaki had as well. Hikaru and Kaoru remained oblivious, but Haruhi and Kyoya must know the true reason why.

No wound such as that would heal so quickly, and even if it _did _heal that quickly...there was no way it would work like a normal arm should. But it did. And Alex was hiding something from them...something she was scared of. Looking into her eyes, he could see fear. He could see sadness, and pain, and _fear_. Fear that something would get out, that something she wanted so desperately kept secret would come to ears and she would be forever pained...

Mitsukuni wanted to know what it was, but it wasn't for him to pry it out of her. Turning to Mori, he beamed widely as he held up his Usa-Chan to his chest, saying, "We should get going too, huh, Takashi?" He nodded.

"Yeah." Mitsukuni turned and waved at Alex, who was giving him a peace sign as she walked away.

"Bye-bye!"

"Later!"

Alex would tell them when she was ready...even if it took longer than he and the rest of those who knew liked.

**BONUS CONTENT **

"Kyoya!" She exclaimed, rushing into the club room, only to pause when she saw his costume. She nearly busted out laughing, clamping a hand over her mouth. "Wh-Why are you..." He turned to look at her, a cross necklace hanging against his chest, his black book took underneath his arm, and wearing a black cloak. "Why are you dressed like an _exorcist!?_"

Kyoya was the _Shadow King_. The complete opposite of an exorcist! Alex couldn't help but keep laughing.

_THWACK! _

She screamed and cried out in pain, kneeling over and clutching her throbbing head. Kyoya had calmly walked over, and with closed eyes behind glasses, smacked her upside the head with the spine of the book. "Oww! You didn't have to hit me! That's abuse-_YOW!_"

"I wasn't supposed to appear in this chapter." He told her, frowning. "If it weren't for the fact that you don't know how to tie corsets, I wouldn't even be here at all."

"What about the fact that the author is too lazy to write a ten-thousand word chapter at 10 o' clock at night?"

"She's still typing, isn't she?"

"She _was_, until you went an' rudely said that!"

"You're American accent is peaking through, Alex." Her face turned a little red and she clamped her hands over her mouth, embarrassed. Sometimes, without realizing it, her American accent peaked through her apparent _perfect _Japanese-which she wasn't even aware she was speaking when she first arrived at Ouran. He smirked, and almost told her that her reaction was "cute", so as to tease her and get a reaction, but there were too many people around.

However, now that she was an Hitachiin, if he was caught in a relationship with her, his father may not mind so much. But that only depends on what she chooses her future to be. Fashion designer, which appears to be very promising for her and her rather good drawing and designing skills, or a computer software developer, which could also happen if she chooses to go in that future. However, her math skills aren't the best, but with a little work...

Kyoya could feel a headache forming. Just _how _was he supposed to get an actual relationship with Alex and _keep _it without making his father angry? Oh, why did she have to be so different? However, the _main _and _big _question was...

What was Alex going to do in her future, and what was she planning on becoming?

**MORE BONUS **

"We just..."

"We just wanted to spend time with you, that's all!" Hikaru finished, his and his brother's faces a dark red. Haruhi looked at them surprised, and tugged on her witch's hat. Akiko stood behind, making a sour fact at the twins as she was the victim of them "switching the cookies". Tamaki started to scold them, yelling at them from cracking a classroom window and scaring Haruhi, and making it seem like she was cursed.

The gust of wind that knocked of Nekozawa's wig? Mere coincidence.

Haruhi sighed, exasperated, before tugging on her hat against and saying, "Fine...Whatever. Hikaru, Kaoru, let's go."

They looked up at her in confusion, and she explained,

"We gotta go dance together at the ball, don't we? Akiko, you can come too. And Alex, if you see her."

"Right!"

Haruhi continued to speak as the twins ran over to walk next to her and Akiko, "I'm telling you this now, but I don't know any of the steps, so don't get mad if I step on your feet."

"It's fine!"

"Just leave it to us!"

Tamaki was left crying, dressed like a Vampire, depressed about his lack of the role in this chapter. "WHY AM I JUST LIKE THIS!?"

"Perhaps it's better this way?" Kyoya suggested, pushing up his glasses with a book resting on a wounded Alex's head. She was still pouting with teary eyes from when Kyoya had hit her earlier. "Less drama and enthusiasm."

"What's wrong with enthusiasm?" Alex moped, her shoulders slumping. She had wanted to dance with Kyoya at the ball, but _nooo_. They had to stop Tamaki from killing the twins, and Alex had to stop Kyoya from killing Tamaki so he could kill the twins. _Because_ _of the twins_, they were going to be billed about the cracked window.

Kyoya wasn't happy.

"Hey," Mitsukuni spoke, smiling, "At least Takashi got a bigger role this time!"

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

Alex hung her head and shook it, a depressed aura forming as mushrooms grew around her feet, "This fanfiction is becoming a total nutcase...I can't even keep track of my character development anymore. I went from whiny and bratty, to being being scared and loud, and now I'm just calm and sarcastic..."

Mitsukuni moved over and hugged Alex's legs, telling her everything would be okay. It was a rather comical picture.

Tamaki was standing in the front with tears streaming down his face, with Mori in the back behind Kyoya, who had his book resting on Alex's head, who had a hand ruffling Mitsukuni's hair as she cried waterfalls with mushrooms blooming around her.

**Read, review, tell me what you think-was it bad, was it crappy, am I being a jerk, am I making things too complicated, or should I just ditch the whole thing with Kaoru and rewrite the entire mumbo jumbo? I was thinking of just having it be a "Never seen a girl like that" thing and he was just getting confused. Nothing big, just a small misunderstanding on his part. I dunno. Read and review, please! I luvvles you!**


	24. Covering the Famous Host Club

**Sorry for the long wait, hope this long chapter makes up for it. DX **

**November 12, 2014**

_I'm not in love with my sister. I swear. That's wrong, on so many levels._ But it was hard getting the image of her half-naked form out of his mind. Kaoru hung his head in his hands, the cold shower water brushing against his hot skin and relieving him of any sweat. "What am I supposed to do...Hikaru?" Kaoru hated being a teenager. Hormones, testosterone... Kaoru's eyes shot open and he nearly banged his head against the shower faucet. "I got it!"

Kaoru felt more than relieved when he realized what was going on, but still felt rather disgusted with himself. He wasn't_ in_ _love _with Alex. It was just because he was a teenage boy who had no _true _romance experience with a girl, and seeing a young pretty teenage girl exposed like that to his eyes made him _lust_. It was just one big understanding!

He was so relieved he felt like crying. _I'm sorry, Alex...I'm so sorry... I love you, but only as my sister. _He knew how she felt about Kyoya and how the Shadow King felt in return-they weren't as subtle as they thought they were. _I promise to never think of you like that again. Forgive me._

"Hey, Kaoru! I'm comin' in! C-Cold!" Hikaru screeched, stepping into the shower as the water spray hit him on full blast. Kaoru flinched and apologized to his irritable brother.

**November 21, 2014  
**

_"How much longer do you plan to hide this from my son?"_

"I-I don't-I don't know... I don't want to tell him."

_"You don't have that long left, Alex. He's my son, and despite how cold-hearted you common-folk believe me to be, I __**do **__care about his wellbeing."_

"How'd you even find out about us?"

_"Kyoya is extremely intelligent-the smartest out all my children, and yet even __**he **__cannot hide something like you from me. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. To think that the young girl I saw walking out of the hospital cafeteria that day, the one who had been talking to __**both **__my eldest sons, would be dating my youngest child. And to later find out that she was the newest female heiress to the Hitachiin family? Just what are you planning to do?"_

"...What am I going to do?" Alex asked herself, finding the question rather amusing. However, as the tears streamed down her red cheeks, she could only hold back a sob. "I'm going to say goodbye. He won't know it, but by the time I'm gone, we'd have already said "bye"."

There was a long silence before Yoshio spoke, his deep voice as cold as ice but as warm as a father's tone could be, _"The only reason I have allowed your relationship with my son to go on is because not only for the sole reason he is my youngest with the least responsibility, but because he's learned something. My daughter comments about how he's less "grumpy" and constantly leaving the house-for reasons __**other **__than the Host Club. You have given my son something special, Ms. Hitachiin. You gave him love, something that I have been unable to do in his life. He deserves to know the deadline."_

The deadline of just a few months. Alex wasn't going to live very long. She woke up coughing one day and after that, it's been blood splatters in the sink and splotches in tissues and napkins.

She had Tuberculosis. But despite the fact that Tuberculosis was practically curable now, there was something wrong with Alex's DNA which made her system immune to the medicine, thus causing any treatment needed worthless. Alex was a dead girl, and there was nothing they could do.

And it was all because she wasn't from this dimension.

"R-Right...I-I know that, but...But how am I supposed to tell him!?" Alex broke down sobbing, unable to stay strong any longer as she sunk down to her knees in her bedroom's bathroom, burying her head in her left arm. The cursed thing. It should have been ripped straight off. "I...I don't know what to do! You're his dad! H-how am I supposed to tell Kyoya that..."

How was she supposed to tell _anyone _that? She didn't even tell Hikaru or Kaoru about her "swap" with Akari. Haruhi and Kyoya knew...she suspected that Mitsukuni and Mori knew something, but...the two people who have been taking care of her since the beginning? They deserved to know the most. Kyoya, the man she loved more than anything by this point, who believed her despite how ridiculous all the words coming out of her mouth sounded...he _needed _to know the most.

Alex didn't want to die. How was she supposed to live her "second chance" to the fullest if she was a dead girl to begin with?

She can't face anyone now. She was dying. She was dying and there was nothing she could do to stop it. The medicine wasn't working, her immune system was too weak- the sickness was merely _spreading_.

**November 25, 2014**

Kyoya observed the cherry blossom he was holding his hand, the sound of girls squealing hitting his eardrums. More than used to the sound, he tuned it out and instead focused on Alex out of the corner of his eye, admiring briefly the way the lavender kimono looked on her, complimented with a darker green. However, that soon turned into annoyance when he recalled the way she's been avoiding him.

They barely had any time together as is, trying to keep their relationship a secret, but Alex... _What's gotten into her? _He went through all possible reasons why she was avoiding him, and the only thing he could come up with was the idea that she was on her "time of the month". But even so, she was acting rather distant last month as well. He knew she was sick, he also knew she was smart enough to visit the hospital-he checked the records of her visits and saw that she had entered and received a check-up.

But he knew she was hiding something. He knew she had done something and may have possibly changed the hospital records-or had someone of influence do it for her. Alex was more clever than she knew, or maybe Kyoya was just thinking too far ahead and overestimating her.

He frowned, seeing the sweat trickling down her pale face as she laughed weakly at something a boy said. She didn't look so good. She looked sick... sicker than usual. Kyoya felt his lips turn down in a frown, but quickly focused on the girls in front of him and kept his smile plastered on his face.

...

Alex smiled at something Daichi said, but quickly turned her head and coughing into her sleeve, pain hitting her in the chest. Daichi and Nagihiko looked alarmed and opened their mouths to ask if she was alright, but she quickly raised a hand and said, "I-I'm fine! Just-Just keeping talking. So... You and-You and Aya, huh?"

Nagihiko blushed, the pink-and-red shades spread across his face like a wildfire. Alex found that highly amusing, and let the smile spread on her face. Pulling out a napkin that she had hidden in her sleeve, still hiding her face from everyone, she wiped the blood off of her face and hand, before folding the napkin up into a tiny little square that was impossible to make out. It was as if she had never coughed in the first place. Alexis kept her smile on her face, but every so often it would twitch and fall. "Y-yeah... We-Well, I asked her yesterday and...she said yes."

"That's wonderful!" Alex exclaimed loudly, grinning like a madman. She felt a surge of happiness flow through her. "Congrats! I'm so happy for you two!"

"Oh, uh, th-thank you, A-Alexis..."

Ever since Daichi had started calling her that, the other male guests have started to do so as well. They claimed it "suited her" and her "feminine" personality. Alex found it ridiculous, but didn't bother to question it.

She cleared her throat and said with a smile, "What about you Daichi?" Daichi's face flared red, but before he could say anything Kaoru and Hikaru had ran up and tackled Alex from behind, wrapping their arms around her neck and sending her tumbling forward. She screamed as she face-planted into the ground, but wasn't able to react as she broke out into another serious of harsh coughs.

The twins, Nagihiko, and Daichi all tensed, looking at her in worry.

**"You alright there, Alex?" **Hikaru and Kaoru asked in unison. Hikaru's eyes grew wide, stunned, and Kaoru looked like he was about to call Kyoya over and demand him to "fix" whatever was wrong with Alex.

"I-I said I'm fine!" She gasped, wheezing slightly as her faze turned red. _It...It's so cold... _She sneezed and shivered, and the twins pulled off of her quickly. Hikaru grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back into him, making her lean against his chest, and Kaoru quickly raised a hand up to the girl's forehead, brushing all the hair out of her face.

Many guests watched in anticipation, awaiting to see what would happen next. Many were fangirling, while others were staring in worry and awe at their close sibling relationship.

"You're burning up!" Kaoru exclaimed, pulling his hand away instantly. Her skin felt like fire. "Why didn't you stay home today?"

"I'm fine!" She argued, pushing herself away from them and onto her feet. She stumbled a little, the kimono restricting her movements. "H-How about we go play some game?"

They stared her, confused at the sudden change of subject, **"Game?" **

"Like what?" Hikaru asked. Kaoru frowned, not wanting to leave the subject of her being sick alone, and said,

"Are you sure you're up for it?"

She laughed a little, trying to smile as best as she could, and waved them off. "Y-yeah, yeah. I'm always up for a good game! How about..._Kemari_?"

Hikaru grinned and quickly threw a hand in the air, "Hey, boss! You want to play some _Kemari _ball with us!?"

Tamaki wasted no time in sending a charming line to the guest he was currently with, before dashing over like his life depended on it.

...

And that basically the reason how they ended up in the Newspaper Club's room, Tamaki apologizing repeatedly to a man who was accidentally hit with the ball upside the head.

_Will this guy just shut up already? _Alex wondered in annoyance, helping Haruhi pick up the pieces of broken window glass. It was so obvious he was faking being in pain just to win to Tamaki over.

"-just a ball flying through the window and hitting me upside the head." Alex coughed a little, trying to clear her sticky throat, and could see Tamaki bowing to the man out of the corner of her eyes. One of the Newspaper Club President's members was holding an icepack to the man's head, as if the club leader was incapable of doing it himself.

"Forgive us, please!"

If Alex remembered Kyoya's information correctly, his name was Akira Komatsuzawa, and he was High School third-year. "Oh, don't worry; this works out perfectly! I was just thinking about approaching the Host Club for a cover story!"

Akira's "friends" were Chikage Ukyo a first-year, the one holding up the icepack, and Tomochika Sakyo, a second-year.

"I wouldn't suppose that you'd be interested?" Akira finished, smiling.

Haruhi spoke, surprised, "I didn't even know we had a newspaper club."

Hikaru and Kaoru walked up, holding up different newspapers.

"It's more gossip drag than newspaper," Hikaru informed.

Kaoru agreed, "Yeah, like a trashy tabloid. It's filled with stories like "scandalous love affairs" and "family power struggles'' and junk like that."

"It's just a lame gossip paper that specializes in stirring up scandal!"

Hikaru and Kaoru gained sour faces and sent a look towards Akira. **"And everyone knows it's all lies, so nobody reads it anymore." **

Alex snickered a little at their words. _Just enjoy what you can, Alex... You don't have that long left. _She swallowed thickly, wincing at the taste of blood. She felt so dizzy... Maybe a day's rest wouldn't have been so bad?

"I guess we have lost sight of the truth because we've been worried about drawing in more readers," Akira said sadly, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on his hands. "It's a shame we're just _now _realizing our error...now that the paper is at _risk_."

Tamaki tensed, gasping.

"We finally realized what we should have been reporting to the students of Ouran." Akira stood up, and Tamaki took a step back in surprise. Akira and his henchmen bowed. "Help us, _please. _For our last paper, we'd like to do an up-close special edition revealing the charms of Ouran's Host Club's members."

The entire Host Club gathered around the desk at that point, looking at the people in surprise.

"I'm _begging _you... Without your help, our club will close."

Tamaki smirked and brushed the bangs out of his face, before sliding a foot forward and placing a hand on his chest. "You can count on us! On behalf of the Host Club I-_CHYAAA!_" He shouted as Kyoya _gracefully _pushed him out of the way, a smile plastered on his face.

Alex felt her lips twitch upwards.

"We have to decline," Kyoya smoothly interrupted Tamaki's words, causing the blonde to throw a fit.

"But Kyoya, he got hurt because of me! What's the big deal-!?" He tried to push past the Shadow King, but Kyoya easily elbowed him in the stomach and placed his other hand on the blonde's shoulder, holding him back. Alex stumbled over and grabbed Tamaki's arms, helping him with holding back the blonde.

"So sorry," Kyoya apologized with a small smile. "We have a strict policy forbidding us from sharing any personal information about our hosts with anyone other than our guests. But we'd be more than happy to pay any medical expenses relating to your injury."

"And another thing," Kaoru began from his spot next to Alex and his brother, "What makes you think we want to help you spread _more _rumors and gossip?" He sounded annoyed. "We got a reputation to uphold and you'd just ruin it." He crossed his arms, scowling.

Hikaru, with his hands behind his head, said, "Besides you guys cause a lot of trouble for other people, and who'd want to get caught up in that?"

Haruhi made a face, and Alex cast a glance at her from behind Tamaki's tall form. She almost burst out into laughter, almost able to guess what the brunette was thinking.

Akira fell into his chair, acting depressed. "I understand. I guess you really _can't _erase the sins of the past, can you?" He gripped the chairs arms, "People won't even give you the opportunity to try and redeem yourself! Oh! My head is _killing _me!" He cried, placing his hands against his head as he rested his forehead against the desk.

Tamaki relaxed in Alex and Kyoya's hold, and they were able to release him. Alex blinked at the man's horrible acting, watching as his two "friends" went over and freaked out over his "poor" health.

"I'm okay, don't worry you two-" He went into another fit, crying out in false pain. Alex felt like smacking him upside the head-or, better yet, hit him upside the head with another _kemari_ ball. "Oh, no! I'm getting dizzy!"

**"President!" **Ukyo and Sakyo cried.

"No, wait, I'm fine-_Oooh!_"

**"President!" **

Alex slowly reached up and tugged on Kyoya's sleeve, surprising the older teen as Alex had previously been avoiding him, and looked down at her. He held back a smirk at the look on her face.

_"Can I please hit him?" _Her eyes read.

Kyoya was half-tempted to wrap and arm around her shoulders and pull her to his chest, to plant a kiss on her forehead. He lightly berated himself in his head for having such thoughts, but he let them linger. Alex seemed to bring out the worst in him. She made him actually _seem _human, instead of the Shadow King that he prided himself on.

"I guess all we can do at this point is disband with grace..." Akira finished, pretending to sulk.

Tamaki finally snapped. "No, you don't have to!" Akira and his lackies looked surprised. "You can _always _make a fresh-start! We'll help! We will rally the power of our Host Club and we can reestablish the Newspaper Club together!" He was so determined and dramatic that he raised a fist in the air.

**"Well, count us out.**" Hikaru and Kaoru said immediately. Kaoru wrapped an arm around Alex's shoulder and started to drag her away, Hikaru doing the same with Haruhi.

"You're way too trusting, boss," Hikaru told the blonde, who was gaping at his club members. "We can't just go along with _everything you do_ forever."

Kaoru couldn't help but to agree with his brother. "Yeah, we've had enough."

"We're leaving too, Tamaki." Kyoya informed, he, Mori, and Mitsukuni all walking to the doors. They were ready to accompany the twins and the females out of the Club room. "We're going to hold an evaluation meeting in the Club room-mostly about _you_."

"_Hold it_." Tamaki growled, causing everyone to stop. They were slightly surprised at the change of his voice, but said nothing, "How can you be so _heartless_? These men are about to lose their club; don't you feel _sorry _for them?" Tamaki whirled around, tears streaming down his face. He held a fist in front of his chest, "Their family's breaking up!"

Akira, Ukyo, and Sakyo had no idea what Tamaki meant by that, but they faked sobs and held handkerchiefs up to cover their noses.

Tamaki pointed at the rest of his club, "As leader of the Host Club I demand you help them, and that is a _direct order!_"

Kyoya, Hikaru, and Kaoru all turned their heads, giving Tamaki a dark look. **"We're not going to do it!" **Haruhi stood their in silence, a bored look on her face. Alex chuckled, but coughed lightly. She cleared her throat again, blinking away the tears in her eyes.

Tamaki screamed, his world shattering before him.

...

He was moping again. Still dressed in his kimono, he was pushing a _kemari _ball back-and-forth with his index finger, glancing back every so often at the rest of the Hosts with big sad blue eyes.

There was a long silence, in which Mitsukuni casually munched on a piece of cake with Mori watching him. Hikaru and Kaoru had their arms wrapped around Alex again, and Haruhi was left standing in front of Kyoya.

_She's refusing to stand near me again... _Kyoya thought in annoyance, seeing how Alex was gravitating around the twins more than him again. He resisted the urge to sigh and focused his attention on Tamaki, his little black book tucked against his side with his other hand on his hip.

Hikaru broke the silence. "Well, he's obviously upset with us."

"Yeah," Kaoru agreed, nodding his head. "He hasn't even changed clothes."

"I hate it when he ignores us when we're right in front of him; he's such a child." Kyoya scowled. Alex seemed to find that amusing and smiled.

"That's Tamaki for you."

"Indeed," Kyoya replied.

Mitsukuni interrupted, "_Naah_. Tama-Chan's just a lonely guy, you know?" Haruhi turned her head, surprised. She bit her lip, frowning thoughtfully. She then turned her gaze back onto Tamaki, who was pouting and mumbling to himself.

"A club is like a family... Their family is about to be broken up. I feel sorry for them."

Haruhi sighed, slumping her shoulders. She had to admit that Tamaki, as crazy and delusional he may be at times, had a point. The Host club _did _feel like one great big dysfunctional family to her. So if the Newspaper Club started to fall apart... _I'm turning soft. _

Haruhi looked up at Kyoya and began, "I'd hate to give in, but would it really be that bad to help them out with their newspaper?"

"What?" Hikaru gasped.

"Hey, since when are you taking his side?" Kaoru demanded. Alex blinked.

"I thought you were on our side."

"I'm not on _anyone's _side," Haruhi corrected with a frown. "Just listen, okay? I know any moment now he's going to look over here with those puppy-dog eyes of his that he uses whenever he wants something, and none of us will be able to say "no" and so he'll win."

Hikaru and Kaoru asked bluntly, **"Let me guess; you're speaking from experience, aren't you?" **

Haruhi made a face, knowing she was caught. "Besides, isn't this the kind of thing you guys usually go for?"

Alex sweatdropped as the twins released her, raising their arms up in the air.

**"Well, no. This seems like more trouble than it's worth." **

Alex swallowed, sticking her hands in the overly big uniform pockets. _I... I can't tell Kyoya. Not yet. I'm not ready. _She was too scared. This...This whole thing was more trouble than it was worth. She was supposed to have a second chance at life. Why was it being taken from her so suddenly? It hadn't even been a whole year yet since she got here.

"Alex?" Haruhi questioned.

"Ehehe... No?" It came out as a question. Haruhi frowned, biting the inside of her cheek, before moving over.

"What about you, Honey-Sempai?"

"Count me out! I have this cake to eat, and Takashi sticks with me, right?" Haruhi was growing annoyed. _Why is everyone here so damn stubborn? _

Mori nodded his head, "Un."

Haruhi felt a pair of eyes looking at her and she slowly turned her head. Tamaki turned his head and looked at her with big blue doe eyes, before quickly turning his head. That caught everyone's attention. "Those are the eyes..." Tamaki rolled the ball back-and-forth again for a moment before glancing at them again.

Haruhi and Alex gave in.

**"Puppy-Dog eyes..." **Hikaru and Kaoru muttered as Tamaki looked at them, raising his eyebrows and making his eyes water.

They couldn't take it. They slumped their shoulders and went to sulk next to Haruhi and Alex.

Tamaki turned his head one more time, sticking out his trembling bottom lip in a pout. Tears threatened to fall down his face.

Kyoya was completely silent.

Tamaki glanced over one last time, and the Shadow King quickly turned his head and pushed up his glasses, clearing his throat.

"There will be some conditions." Tamaki looked like he was going to burst with joy. "The outline for their article will be submitted by us. Interviews are prohibited, and our clients identities will be kept strictly confidential." Tamaki let out multiple barks, turning around to face them with a smile on his face. Kyoya slammed his book shut with one hand, having opened it and was reading from it. "Do we agree?" Kyoya questioned.

Hikaru sighed. "Well, if you think it's cool, Kyoya-Sempai..."

"Then we do too." Kaoru finished, closing his eyes. Alex grumbled to herself before reaching out and wrapping her arms around Haruhi's shoulders. The taller girl made a face.

"Sounds good to me."

Haruhi turned her head suspiciously towards Kyoya when Mitsukuni said, "I'll help too since Kyo-Chan says it's okay!"

_That's the Shadow King for you... _Haruhi briefly wondered about Alex's influence as the supposed "Shadow Queen".

...

"Of course!" Akira agreed immediately. "If you allow us to cover you, then we agree to your conditions!"

"Wonderful," Kyoya replied with a fake smile. "Then I expect you to start tomorrow." He was holding a medical kit in his hands.

"Excellent!" Akira grinned, lacing his fingers together. Alex paused uncertainly from her spot behind Kyoya, but her times from hosting made her keep a smile plastered on her face. She needed to act inconspicuous-both from her knowledge of knowing that Akira was up to something, and to hide how badly hurt she was emotionally from her whole sickness ordeal.

Alex asked, feigning curiosity, "I've been wondering Akira," The man looked stunned at her use of his name _and _her question, "How's your injury doing?"

"Oh, that?" He asked, a small smiling spreading across his face. "It's not big deal. I hardly feel it anymore," Not like he ever did in the first place. "I owe a lot to this bump, because if it weren't for that we may have never gotten together for this article! Thank you so much for worrying though, Miss Hitachiin."

Word had gotten around about her being a part of the family. Mainly from the twins bragging mouths. Not that Alex could complain really, she was more than excited to be an actual member of their family. But now... with everything that's happening...

It wasn't that good of a thing anymore. It'll just cause more pain.

"Oh, I wasn't too worried." Alex replied easily, waving a hand in front of her face. Her chest was starting to hurt again, and her breathing was slightly labored. Kyoya cast a glance down at her out of the corner of his eyes, but kept his host smile on his face. "But we _are _still guilty..."

"We're very sorry that it happened, Mr. Komatsuzawa. In fact, I even brought you something as an apology of sorts." Kyoya walked over and set the first-aid kit on Akira's desk. He opened it, and Alex stayed where she was, smiling "kindly" all the while. "This is a first-aid kit, made by my family's company."

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Akira responded, smiling as well.

"No problem, please excuse us." Kyoya said and turned around, Alex beginning to follow the older teen out. Akira stopped them however.

"Oh, it just dawned on me! Your family runs the Ootori Group, right? They manufacture medical equipment, don't they?" Kyoya's smile, which had slipped off of his face the second he turned around, spread across his face again as he turned his head to smile at Akira.

"We mostly deal with hospital management."

"I'm so glad that we'll be working together! The Hitachiin family... isn't that computer software?" Alex nodded politely. "My father happens to be a President, just like yours Kyoya. He's the President of the Komatsuzawa Publishing firm."

"Yes..." Kyoya spoke, a hand on his hip. "We are both well aware of that." Before they had arrived, Kyoya had filled Alex in on all the details of Komatsuzawa's family-everything that he knew, she now knew. In return, Alex came up with the idea to give Akira the medicine kit. "So being in charge of the Newspaper Club is your way or preparing to take over the family company?"

"...Well, yes, to an extent. You see, I have this younger brother. He's a bright young man and my father's _very _proud of him. So now my father has decided to turn all future management of the company over to _him_." Oh, how much Alex wanted to smack him upside the face. Was he really trying to win Kyoya over with _this? _It was Ayanokoji all over again. She watched Akira reach his hands up and bite his thumb nail, "And thereby passing over _me_, the _eldest _son."

Alex had a brief flashback to the phone call she received a while back from Yoshio. She was still wondering how he got her number, but didn't bother questioning it. He _was_, after all, Kyoya's father.

"However, if I pass through my third-year of High School as the successful leader of a Newspaper Club, then he might just change his mind and make me his successor." Kyoya turned away and placed a hand on Alex's shoulder, ready to walk her out of the room. Alex turned around, facing the door uncertainly. "Do you understand? I can _not _allow this club to fall apart, no matter _what_." There was threat underlying his tone.

Both of them noticed.

"Please, excuse us..."

"Actually, before you go, I was hoping to speak a little to Miss Hitachiin?" Alex tensed, alarmed. She wanted to walk with Kyoya-as painful as it may be for her to do so. "I...do hope that's all right?"

"Oh, that's perfectly fine!" Alex said quickly, sending Kyoya a quickly look. He caught the message and nodded, saying,

"Of course; I don't see why not. I'll wait for you outside the hall."

"Thanks." She said, voice suddenly quieting. _I-I still need to tell him... _But she can't. It was going to be impossible for her. She watched as Kyoya opened the door and walked out of the room, closing it behind him. It was silent. "So, what did you want?" She asked, grinning. She could feel her scar stretch across her face.

"...Now, I'm just asking this out of curiosity, but what made you join the Host Club? I was under the impression that only _males _could become Hosts."

Oh... He was trying to get info out of her. Haha. Funny. Alex beamed and placed her hands on her hips, gaining a thoughtful look as she lifted her head.

"Hm...Why did I join?" _Kyoya forcefully made me join. If it wasn't for that... _Her heart fluttered in her chest, and an aching feeling formed once again. She swallowed. "Well, because I wanted to. It seemed like fun."

"So you like toying with mens hearts?"

"No. Where'd that come from?"

Akira grinned, and Alex gained the feeling that "Akira" was a name that belonged to cold people. No offense to those with that name or anything, it was just a coincidence. The Akira she knew was actually nicer to her now than she used to be before. "Oh, nowhere. I have a favor to ask of you, Hitachiin-San...Can I call you Alex?" She opened her mouth to protest, but he quickly sent her a slimy smile and said, "Yes, Alex...What do you think about Tamaki Suoh? Does he seem..._suspicious _to you?"

"Nope." She replied, popping the p. "Why?"

"No reason, no reason." He said quickly, before standing. He strolled over to the smaller girl, placing a skinny hand on her shoulder. "Do you... _know _anything about him? Anything...dark?" He smiled down at her, and Alex wanted nothing more than to kick him and make a break for it. She also had an urge to yell for Kyoya. But if she did, then their whole plan would fail. She'd have to put up with it...for now. She'd get her revenge in the end.

Oh hell, he really did rub off on her a little too much. She's becoming manipulative. _Not good, _she thought, eyeing Akira's hand disdainfully.

"You can tell me anything about him that bothers you, you know..." He ran his thumb across her cheek.

_Ew. EWWWW! _Gross! Why couldn't it be Kyoya-

No. No. She's not thinking about it. Her chest hurt at thought.

Right now, this whole situation was making her stomach churn uncomfortably. Alex reached up and placed a hand on his wrist, removing his hands from her and taking a step back with a polite smile. "I appreciate the concern, A-Akira, but there really is nothing wrong with Tamaki. He's one of the nicest people I know!"

She made to let go of him, but Akira quickly reached over with his other hand and grabbed her. She tried not to make a face. Akira _really _needed to wash his hands. They were all sweaty. "I really do appreciate how you were worrying about me. I just want to return the favor..."

His two lackies stood in the background, watching the scene awkwardly.

Kyoya's voice called out from the door, "Alex? Are you done?"

"Y-yeah! I'm coming!" She slipped her hand out of Akira's and quickly walked away, saying, "Like I said, there's-there's nothing wrong with Tamaki." She coughed a bit into her sleeve, looking relieved when she saw no red liquid. She opened the door and left, intent on washing her hands and face, and burning the school jacket she was wearing. Hikaru had like fifty of them-surely he wouldn't care if he lost one.

Ukyo question Akira, "Mr. President, are we to assume that you were trying to win over Kyoya Ootori and Alexandria Hitachiin?"

Akira smirked from his spot where he was standing. "That is correct. My only _real _enemy here is Tamaki Suoh. Originally I was planning to use my power as President of the Newspaper Club to become popular here at Ouran Academy. But then _Suoh _showed up and started his _stupid _Host Club, and suddenly he became the big man on campus!"

"But President, that's not what Sakyo and I heard-" Ukyo started to protest.

"Yeah, I heard that the newspaper you printed before was just as unpopular as it is now!" Sakyo said.

Akira ground his teeth together and turned around, glaring at his "friends". "That's enough! All it takes is one call to mother to have all ties between our publishing companies _cut off_." Ukyo and Sakyo stood up straight, stiff. "They obviously got special standing! They're not affiliated with any sports or cultural clubs! They don't even have an _advisor!_" He growled. He continued, "All they do in that club is fake romance. Those poor girls and boys that visit them are being _suckered_. It must be Suoh's way of flaunting his power. Using his parents power to let he and his buddies do whatever they want this those students! All those Hosts, _including _Kyoya Ootori and Alex Hitachiin, were supposed to be _my _underlings!

I was going to invite Alex to join this club...she was going to be my "Queen" of sorts. Instead, Suoh roped her into joining their club and making her into a _Hostess! _He's demeaning her! Suoh is much more shrewd than you'd expect... He may seem like a nice guy-he's got the act down... but I'm positive he's got a dark side. I'll dig until I find something scandalous! And if that means I have to seduce that woman myself than so _be it! _She may be a Hostess, but all women are weak compared to men... I'll make her break. She'll spill everything she knows about Suoh to me." He slammed the medicine kit shut, growling with a smirk, "That'll teach them a lesson."

"But sir-"

"Silence! Don't make me call mother."

* * *

**November 26, 2014 **

"Great, he's looking at me..." Haruhi grumbled, stress lines forming on her face. Alex laughed lightly, not letting her self laugh loudly in fear she'd get caught hacking up blood, and patted Haruhi on the back. "I should probably start acting like I'm happy to be here..."

"Probably."

Ukyo stammered from his spot next to his boss, "Um, President... I'm too sure as to what he's saying."

"Are you sure he isn't just a complete idiot?" Sakyo asked, his face turning blue.

"Don't let your guard down just yet!" Akira warned, "This is all just part of his strategy!"

Kyoya started to walk away, sighing, "I'm done with this..." Haruhi leaned over and groaned, Alex laughing at her. As he walked past, Kyoya slowed and gave Alex a frown, remembering their conversation the other day.

_"Why didn't you just head back to the Host Club without me?" Alex questioned in confusion, frowning. She didn't understand it. Kyoya raised an eyebrow at her, his arms crossed. _

_"Is it crime to be nice to you, Alex? No one will suspect anything just from this little thing." Maybe not, but...being around him hurt. Seeing him hurt. It was a pleasant hurt, and an aching hurt all at once. "Or did you have a sudden change of heart about everything? Is that why you've been avoiding me?" _

_"That's not it!" She protested, hurt flickering on her face for a moment. She turned her head, refusing to look at him. She wanted to tell him. "I... K-Kyoya..." _

_"What is it?" They stopped walking. Alex's fingers twitched and she swallowed thickly, feeling another cough coming on her head started to hurt. "Alex?" _

_"I...I can't.. I'm..." _I'm dying_, is what she wanted to say. _We should stop whatever this is. I don't want to hurt you... _It was foolish of her to even think that he'd be hurt from her death, but that day at the beach when he... She wasn't foolish enough to think that he _doesn't_care about her. "Um...A-Actually, do you have any sanitizer on you? Akira grabbed my hands and they were all slimy." __Kyoya frowned, knowing she was hiding something from him. _

_However, he felt anger at Akira-anger for touching Alex. Kyoya was indeed a possessive person. But he remained calm, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small bottle. _

"There she is..." Akira muttered with a grin, pushing up his glasses. "Alex, there you are!" He walked over to the girl, holding his notepad up with a smile. Alex tensed and smiled awkwardly at him, not really in the mood to put up any facades. "What can you tell me about the Host Club?"

"O-Oh... It's fun most of the time, and we do everything we can to make our guests happy."

"I see..." This isn't what he wanted to hear at all. "And you joined because you thought it was "fun" correct? Any other reason specifically?"

"Not...necessarily?"

"So Suoh didn't force you to join? He didn't bribe you or anything? Come on, Alex, you can tell me _anything_." He placed a hand on her shoulder and slid it down against her back, pulling her closer to him. Women were weak to shows of affection... Akira tried not to smirk as he gave the kindest smile he could muster.

"He..._really _didn't bribe. Tamaki's not like that." Alex tried to push herself away, uncomfortable with the new position. _Kyoya... _She didn't see him anywhere. _Damn it... Okay. I'm on my own again. Got it. _"Tamaki's a nice guy. What's your issue with him?"

"Issue? Oh, I have no issue with him! I'm just curious; what's your relationships with the other Hosts?"

Alex was _this close _to hitting him. "Hikaru and Kaoru are my brothers, and I'm friends with everyone else. Can you let go now, please?"

"Oh? I'm sorry, I didn't even _notice_-My _deepest _apologies, Alex! Please forgive me?" He grabbed her hand and smiled, before kissing it. _Gross! What is his problem!? Ew, ew, ew- _

"Oh, it-it's _fine. _Don't-Don't worry about it!" She laughed nervously, reaching her hand behind her and wiping it on her pants. "I'm...just going to go find Hikaru and-_gyah!_" Alex wasn't given time to finish as said twins ran up and snatched Alex up, shouting,

**"Chop!" **They laughed loudly, and Mori and Mitsukuni took the pleasure of snatching up Haruhi in their stead. Kyoya and Tamaki had their pinkies interlocked, and Tamaki looked enraged.

"Hey, wait; those weren't the things you were supposed to cut, you know!?"

Kyoya's glasses had glared over, his eyes obscured from view. He turned his gaze from the running High Schoolers over to Akira, who looked completely lost. Behind his glasses his dark eyes narrowed.

After a while, they game changed. They were now playing _Kick the Can _with Kyoya as the "it" man.

He sighed, arms crossed. "If I must." Alex resisted the urge to poke him in the side, tempted to say "You know you're having fun" and instead clung to Haruhi's arm, biting the inside of her cheek.

Tamaki nodded and braced himself, reeling his leg back and screaming, "STARLIGHT _KIIIIIIIIICK!" _He kicked the can, sending it _flying _through the air past Akira's head, causing the man himself to scream.

It took a few seconds for him to recollect his jaw from the ground, and he placed two fingers against his forehead. "If you honestly think that I'm going to fall for the same trick again, you got another-_AAARGH!" _He screamed as he was nailed upside the head, knocked onto the ground.

The Host Club members were left running around, trying to find a hiding place. Tamaki quickly snatched up Haruhi, Mori went with Mitsukuni, and Hikaru and Kaoru quickly snatched up Alex.

"One...two...three..." Kyoya was left counting. Akira was left cursing, "four...five..." Kyoya stood when he heard Akira and his goonies walking away. "Six..."

"You'll pay for this Tamaki Suoh!"

Kyoya smirked.

...

"H-Hikaru, K-Kaoru, slow down-" Alex started to scream, the twins running as fast as they possibly could down the hallways of the school. "I can't-!" She wheezed painfully, and the twins only released her when she started to cough. She stumbled forwards, crashing into Hikaru, a hand covering her mouth as she coughed-hacking roughly and painfully into her hand.

She coughed, hard and wet until-

The twins froze, horrified at the sight of the blood against her hand. She continued to cough, the droplets not stopping there. She pushed herself out of Hikaru's grip, blood splattering across the marble floor. She gasped painfully, and tears started to well up in Alex's eyes as her chest burned. Blood bubbled up her throat and she gave one last hard cough, panting and heaving heavily as her head pounded harshly. The world spun lightly, and it took a moment for her to regain balance and vision.

Without even thinking about it, something that had become a habit the past few months, she ripped out multiple napkins and tissues she had stuffed in her sleeves and pockets and started to wipe up the blood on the floor.

Hikaru and Kaoru didn't talk, didn't move...they only stared. Caramel eyes wide, horrified, stunned, and... betrayed.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I-I'm fine..." She mumbled to herself breathily, trying to calm her frantic heart as she gathered up all the bloodied tissues. "I'm-" She cleared her throat, coughing once more but less harshly. "Perfectly fine..."

"Fine... The hell just happened-!?" Hikaru started to shout, and Alex tensed as if finally noticing that they were still there. Her head turned robotically towards them, and they finally saw the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Alex..."

"Don't..." She began, swallowing thickly. She was caught. Alex was seen. "Don't tell Ky-Kyoya..."

Hikaru pushed himself on one knee, narrowing his eyes at her. "Don't tell him _what_, Alexis?"

"What are you not telling us?" Kaoru demanded, having a really bad feeling about all this. That was... _That was blood. Her blood. She was coughing up blood. _His brain seemed unable to process that fact. The girl he considered a sister was _coughing up blood_.

Her lips curled back and she opened her mouth, ready to speak, but instead all that came out was a choked sob. The brothers moved forward to hug her, but froze when they saw her shake her head frantically.

"N-No... We-We have to go...The-The plan..."

"Damn it," Hikaru cursed. He stood and pulled Alex to her feet, growling, "This isn't over! You're explaining when we get home, understand!? Damn it!"

"Hikaru, calm down-"

"How the hell am I supposed to calm down, damn it!? Did you not _see_-"

"I saw it, too, Hikaru!" Kaoru snapped. He glared at Hikaru, who looked startled at his brother's sudden anger. Kaoru was always the calm one. "You think I'm not pissed off, too? That I'm not worried!? That I'm not _scared!? _She's my little sister, too, damn it!" His voice sounded strained from all the yelling, and he looked like he was about to cry. "She's _my _little sister _too! _You-You aren't the only one that cares, H-Hikaru..." His voice cracked and he swallowed, blinking multiple times as he raised his head to the ceiling, as if that would help stop the tears from falling. "C-Come on..."

"K-Kaoru..."

Alex bit her lip, pained. She wanted to break down crying at that moment. She was so scared... She didn't want to die. She didn't want them to know she was going to die. She didn't want to have to face that reality...

She had died once...

Alex didn't want to do it again. Knowing the deadline was scarier... at least with the car, it was fast. It was sudden and quick. She didn't have time to react.

Now...

Alex swallowed and reached up, grabbing them both my their uniform sleeves. "L-Let's just go..." She had stuffed the bloodied tissues into her pockets. She would throw them away later. There was something more important that needed to be done. Someone was threatening not only Tamaki, but the entire Host Club as well. And that person was a _creep. _"We need to-to catch up with the others..."

Alex wanted to live.

...

"Well, if you do that, then the Host Club won't exist anymore," Alex stated bluntly, grinning. "We can't have that happen, can we?"

Akira had barged into the Newspaper Club room, declaring on how he was going to "expose" Tamaki.

Hikaru hummed, sitting on the left of Alex on Akira's desk. Kaoru spoke from his spot on her right, "So we were right all along."

Akira narrowed his eyes. "You three..."

"Well, I guess it _was _pretty obvious." Hikaru stated with a smirk, staring at him coldly.

Kaoru mimicked his brother's expression, just the slightest bit more cold. "Boss is the only one who hasn't caught on yet," He said, narrowing his eyes. "He can be pretty dense when it pertains to anything about himself."

"I should warn you," Hikaru said, "If you harm him there will be consequences."

"Are you ready to have the Hitachiin's and every other club members family as your enemies?" Kaoru questioned. Alex smiled, so glad to finally get revenge on this guy.

"You really shouldn't make us angry, Akira. Messing with Tamaki is sure to put you on that route."

Akira looked like he was going to rage. "I knew it! You're nothing but his lackies and his slaves... Tamaki's holding his parents power over _all of you!_"

Did he not listen to anything they just said? Talk about an idiot.

"That's not true," Mitsukuni's voice rang out, and Akira turned around in surprise to see the honey-blonde boy holding Usa-Chan to his chest, Mori standing protectively behind him. "We don't hang out with Tama-Chan because of his parents." Mitsukuni smiled. "We _all _love Tama-Chan. That's why we enjoy being around him."

Kyoya spoke from his spot on top of multiple newspaper stacks, somehow managing to look like a complete bad-ass while doing so. He pushed up his glasses, "He may be a hopeless idiot, _but _ever so..."

_"Hey Kyoya! Let's start a club together!" _

_"Hello there, Haninozuka-Sempai. I know this is sudden, but I was wondering if you'd like to join a new club I was starting?" _

_"Morinozuka-Sempai!" _

_"You two seem to have a lot of free time... If you ever get bored, feel free to join our new club!" _

Alex's memory wasn't exactly the same as everyone else's but it... it was still there. It was a vivid reminder of her spot in the club.

_"Stop trying to enforce your opinions of yourself onto other people! Really, for being someone who hangs out with Kyoya during lunch and club time all the time, you are an _**idiot!**_We would_ never _hate you Alex, even if you were a zombie or an alien or anything_ different!_ Get your head out of the gutter!"_

"Well?" Hikaru questioned.

"What will you do?" Kaoru asked.

Alex narrowed her eyes. "Don't make a mistake."

"Please leave Tama-Chan alone!" Mitsukuni pleaded. "Okay?"

Akira growled. "I'll get you all..." He suddenly said, "It's not just about him anymore. I'll write an article that'll ruin _all of you!" _

Alex snorted. "Yeah. Have fun with that, jerk." Kyoya smirked at Alex's words as he strolled over to the desk which held the medicine kit.

"She's right. Go ahead, be my guest. Although..." He gave his usual Shadow King smile, pressing down on a button on the kit and causing a small CD to pop out. Kyoya held it up with a finger. "What do you think we should do about this little disk? You see, it's been here since yesterday, and it recorder everything. Even your little "chat" with our favorite Hostess."

Oh, yes. Kyoya knew about that. It pissed him off to no end what Akira thought he could do to _his _Alex. Hikaru and Kaoru's gazes sharpened onto Akira, and the man tensed, feeling not only their glares, but Mitsukuni's dark stare on his back.

"President.." Ukyo squeaked, terrified.

"J-Just give up already!" Sakyo begged of their leader. Akira fell to his knees, and Kyoya smiled as he stepped forward to speak to Akira.

"Let me explain it to you in term that you can understand... You would do well to remember that the Ootori Group and the Hitachiin Family alone are enough stock to remove you father as President of the Komatsuzawa Publishing firm." Kyoya was silent for a moment, and let the threat loom in the air. After a minute, he continued, taking a slight pleasure at the look of despair on the man's face, "However, we would never do something like that. We are not like you. What we strive for...is fundamentally different." If he couldn't punch him, then Kyoya would just settle for the look of defeat on Akira's face. Akira had went _too far_.

...

"Found you~!" Kyoya sang calmly, seeing Haruhi and Tamaki underneath a chapel.

"Where the Newspaper club?" Tamaki asked instantly, confused when he didn't see them.

**"They had to cancel; something came up." **Hikaru and Kaoru explained. As the walked out of the maze, they passed a bush-a bush with four different and oddly colored roses. One was blue, tangled tightly with a pale orange. A green petal had stubbornly pushed itself into the top middle of these two flowers, and beside it was a lavender rose, entwining itself with the green.

No one noticed however, or even knew the significance that this would mean.

Alex said, arms crossed, "They promised to right true articles from now on, so they might not get shut down." She felt Hikaru and Kaoru tighten their grip around her shoulders, and knew that she wasn't off the hook just yet. She swallowed, beads of sweat trailing down her pale face. Alex wasn't feeling the greatest as of yet...

"Oh, really?" Tamaki asked in surprise, passing by a bush with two roses tucked in next to each other-a coral pink and dark purple.

"Let's hurry back to the club room and eat some cake!" Mitsukuni suggested excitedly, sitting on Mori's shoulders.

"Yeah."

Tamaki grinned in agreement. "That does sounds good! Cake! Cake!" He held his hands up in the air, passing by a bush with a single white rose, accompanied by a beautiful red one.

"Hey, Kyoya-Sempai...I was wondering, is the Suoh-Sempai really that big a deal around here?" Haruhi asked after a moment's silence.

"Well, the foundation of their business lies in corporate finance." He explained, "However they do have some real estate as well. You've heard of the _Roy Grand Hotel _and the _Outo Theatre_, haven't you? They also had a hand in other things, like school management for example."

Haruhi looked shocked. "Really? What school?" Kyoya stopped walking, surprised. Haruhi slowed to a stop and turned her head in confusion.

"Why...Ouran Academy." Haruhi went still. Kyoya started walking again. "You've been here long enough that you should at least know what the Chairman's name is. You know, if you think about, the only reason you were able to attend school here was because of the financial aid received from Tamaki's family. You should be grateful to them."

"Haruhi~!" Tamaki sang, waving a hand in the air as he called her over. She robotically turned her head to stare him, unable to believe what she had heard. Alex was grinning like a madman at her, despite the pained look in her eyes. "If you don't hurry, we're going to leave you~! I would hate for you to end up lost again~!"

**Read and review. I love you guys~! :) **


	25. Everything is a Little Bit Broken: P1

_"I want to be remembered as the girl who always smiled even when her heart was broken, and the one who could always brighten your day even if she couldn't brighten her own."_

_-unkown_

**December 12, 2014**

_She came into our world faster than we could blink... _

Alex never understood how seasons worked here in this dimension. It was December and yet it wasn't even snowing-no, in fact it was summer. And it was Summer_ break_. It was like the seasons come-and-go however they like here.

"You know..." Kaoru began quietly from his spot on the chair next to her bed, "It's kinda scary."

"What's scary?" Alex asked, lifting her head up from the book she was reading. "It's only a hospital."

"That's not what I'm scared about!" He snapped, causing Alex to jolt and stare at him with wide alarmed eyes. He leaned over and buried his face in his hands, unable to look at her. "Th-This... _losing _you. You can't die, Alex...it's too surreal."

Alex swallowed, holding back a flinch at the pain in her throat. "Death happens all the time, Kaoru," She responded with a false close-eyed smile, her bangs falling into her face. Kaoru slowly raised his head, revealing the tears he was hiding. "I'm just one of its victims."

The door to Alex's hospital room slammed open, revealing a raging Hikaru. "Don't you dare _say _something like that!" He held the coffee cup in his hand tightly, so tightly Alex thought it was going to get crushed and coffee would spill everywhere. The styrofoam trembled underneath Hikaru's hold. "You...You shouldn't have to be a victim!" He marched over and slammed the coffee cup on the nightstand against her hospital bed, and grabbed the collar of her shirt as he climbed on her bed. "You shouldn't have to be dealing with _any_ of this shit, damn it!"

"H-Hikaru-" She began, sweat beading down her pale face, but he merely cut her off.

"No! Who the hell decided that you'd get to die like this!? Who the hell made it their business to stick you into our lives only to rip you right out!?"

Alex froze and lowered her head, the shadows covering her face to hide her eyes from him. Hikaru ground his teeth together, an urge to punch something growing much more strongly in his gut than ever before. _It's all my fault... _Alex should have never tried to play hero. She should have never helped that old woman. Alex... her name meant "defender of mankind" like Truth had said. And yet, here she was, weak and fragile as a tiny twig sitting away in a hospital and hiding any documents and files that could lead to Kyoya finding out about her condition.

Hikaru happened to be quite the excellent hacker, something his father taught him when he was younger and was actually able to spend time with his children. "I'm going to kill someone..."

"Hikaru, calm down," Kaoru began, but the older twin quickly glared at him. Kaoru cut himself off, stunned not at the fact that Hikaru was glaring at him, but at the fact that the rougher twin was _crying_. "H-Hikaru..."

"She's..." His grip on Alex's collar tightened, and the girl merely sat there, not saying anything. "Why can't... why can't we do anything?" He sounded so hopeless.

The room was left silent at those words, knowing nothing could be done. She was immune to any of the medicines that could possibly save her life. It was as if her immune system was made _specifically _to leave her helpless against Tuberculosis. A supposed "cured" disease. The doctors have tried everything-so they've been told. They've run multiple tests on her and tried multiple medicines, but still nothing.

"Hey..." Alex finally spoke, and Hikaru loosened his grip as he and Kaoru lifted their heads to stare at Alex. Their blood froze cold, and their mouths ran dry in disbelief and shock. "Just relax already! I'm fine... Besides, I'm not staying in this hospital forever. I already told Haruhi that I'd be going with her to Karuizawa!" Alex laughed with a huge smile on her face, acting like everything was okay. "Gotta live life to the fullest, you know?"

"A-Alex..." Kaoru stammered, stunned. His gaze quickly drew to Hikaru, who was trembling. He released Alex abruptly and stood up, storming towards the door. For a brief moment he paused, and Alex and Kaoru both flinched when Hikaru suddenly slammed his fist against the wall yelling loudly,

"_Stop acting like everything is okay, damn it!_"

Alex watched him leave, her voice leaving her and her smile turning down into a frown. She stared at the door where he left for a moment before looking down at her hands, clutching the sheets tightly.

_That's the thing, Hikaru... I-I'm not. _She bit her lip, digging her nails into the sheets. _I'm not treating it like everything's okay. I-I'm not, I-I swear, I'm not... _How could she? She was dying.

All over again and there was nothing to be done to save her.

She needed to leave Kyoya, but the weird thing was that they weren't actually boyfriend/girlfriend were they? No... He never properly asked her out. He just kissed her and that was that. She had _very _little time left and-

Alex raised a hand up to her mouth, coughing harshly into her palm. Kaoru shot out of his chair and leaned over, placing a hand on her back and rubbing it gently, all the while reaching over her body to the nightstand to grab a tissue. Red liquid trailed down her fingers and wrist, droplets falling and hitting against the bed sheets. Kaoru quickly dabbed it all up while she coughed, making sure to clean her hand up as well. A pained look was on his face, and he could feel his heart shattering.

He wondered if this was how Hikaru felt whenever he saw their sister like this. That feeling of-well, it wasn't really something that could be described. It just...hurt. It was like the time at the beach when Alex drowned and... and they both thought they lost her.

"Alex..."

"Hm?" Alex pulled away from her hand, allowing Kaoru to dab at the blood on her lips and chin with the napkin as if he were her mother. "W-What...is it, K-Kaoru?"

His lips drew back as he tried to speak, the tears welling up in his eyes.

Kaoru lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her tightly and hiding his face from her. She tensed, startled, before relaxing and clearing her throat. "H-Hey, it's okay. I'll still be here." She hugged him back awkwardly, making sure her hands didn't touch him from where they were bloodied earlier. Even if they were cleaned, it still felt weird with that feeling of the stickiness from before.

"W-We'll find you a cure...I-I promise. We'll get you better." His voice cracked, and Alex felt her heart drop into her stomach at his words. It was an empty promise.

No longer caring about how her hands felt earlier, she placed her hands on Kaoru's shoulders and gently pushed him away, causing him to stare at her with a tear-stained face, his caramel eyes red and watery. She placed a hand underneath his chin and lifted his head up, forcing a smile. "Don't...don't make promises you can't keep, Kaoru. Thank you though, for caring."

That was when he saw the tears in her eyes.

_...and now she's being forced out of it by nature._

* * *

**December 16, 2014**

_The strange girl who appeared out of nowhere..._

Kyoya ran his hands through his hair in irritation, anger bubbling inside of him. His sister Fuyumi went through his drawers in an attempt to sort out all of his clothes while he typed frantically away at his laptop, circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. Kyoya stopped typing for a moment to go through some papers that were lying on the table in front of him, before scrolling down on his laptop and typing away again.

Nothing. Zilch. _Nada_.

Kyoya let out an angered yell and stood up, slamming a fist against the table as the chair he was sitting on flew backwards, knocked over by the sudden momentum.

"Damn it all to _hell!_"

Fuyumi let out a startled gasp and whirled around, dropping the shirt she was trying to stuff back into his drawer. "K-Kyoya? Is something wrong!?"

"That girl is _hiding _something from me and I intend to find out what the hell it is! Damn it-ARGH!" He let out another frustrated yell and punched the table again, causing a dent. Fuyumi was stunned and wasn't quite sure what to say.

_That girl? _She felt a smile grow on her face. _That explains a lot. Last time I've seen him grow so worked up or even the slightest bit emotional at something was when he first met Tamaki. _To think that Kyoya has a girlfriend...or something of that sort. It appears her father wasn't lying after all. "Care to explain?"

He lifted his angry eyes to her calm ones, "Explain? You want me to _explain? _She's been avoiding me when before all she ever did was run to my side and hug me. She's been looking away whenever our eyes meet instead of blushing and smiling shyly like she usually does and making a sarcastic remark. She's been lurking around those twins more than usual and hardly even _speaking _to me and when we're finally alone and able to talk, you know what she does? She acts like she's going to tell me what's wrong before she changes the subject to something else and I know she's sick and she won't go to the damn doctor or tell me _anything! _What the hell is wrong with her!?"

He grabbed the closest thing he saw, which also happened to be the least expensive, and threw it across the room, smashing it against a wall. The book crumpled to the ground with a soft plop, hitting the carpeted floor.

"But if she _is _going to the doctor, which I know she is, she has someone wipe all the records!" He fell to his knees and scratched as his head frantically, causing his usually neatly brushed hair to become messy and wild. His glasses threatened to fall off of his nose. "Damn it!"

Fuyumi was about to make a comment when Kyoya's cellphone suddenly rang. He scowled and let out another loud string of curses, before pulling out his phone. He seemed visibly disappointed for a second before he answered, pushing up his glasses and standing up.

"What the hell do you want, Tamaki?"

_"HARUHI'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!" _

"What?" Kyoya asked, visibly annoyed and confused at the same time as he furrowed his eyebrows. He sighed, rubbing the sides of his head with his two index fingers as he put his phone between his ear and shoulder. "Is this one of your delusions again?"

_"NO! Why would you even think that, Kyoya!?"_ Tamaki sounded hurt. _"She's not answering her housephone and I can't get hold of Alex either!" _

Kyoya's blood froze, and Fuyumi watched in interest as he stiffened. She could hear everything being said on the phone due to Tamaki's loud voice. _So her name is Alex? _

"...Alex is missing along with Haruhi?"

_"YES!" _

Suddenly the twins voices could be heard on the phone, _**"Have you tried their cellphones?" **_

Tamaki sounded so lost, _"Cell...phone? WHY ON EARTH WOULD THEY HAVE CELLPHONES!?" _

Kyoya suddenly had a flashback to a while back when Alex had taken a picture of him without his consent. He remembered how she said that the picture would have looked better if he was smiling.

What reason could he have to smile when she was avoiding him? She had the strangest of effects on him. His chest had this odd pain when he thought about how she's been avoiding him, and even worse when she ran away when it was just the two of them. Seeing her talk to the male guests brought such anger to him and...

She would talk to them, but not _him_? Her own-No.

A sudden realization dawned on Kyoya at that moment. He had almost forgotten, something which he had planned to do a long time back. Was she mad at him because he never asked her out properly? Surely she could understand due to his father and his strict ways, but now that she was an Hitachiin his father would probably be much more lenient than before. Maybe, just maybe, he could keep her by his side once and for all.

Kyoya scowled and shook his head, berating himself for such thoughts before going through his laptop for some files. He found what he was looking for and calmly informed Tamaki, "Not to interrupt your delusion, but Haruhi and Alex are currently in Karuizawa...along with Akiko Urushihara." Surprise laced his voice for a brief moment, surprised at that sudden knowledge on the document he was reading. He knew she was a regular of Alex and Haruhi, but to think they were that close... He underestimated the common girl.

Akiko Urushihara was a girl born into a family who made cosmetics and salon products. She wasn't too important or famous, but her family is well-known. She's more middle-class than that of high-class; her intellect was above average though, which gave her access to the A-section of the school rather the B or C.

_"Haruhi...was turned out of her home and was kidnapped beside Alex by gypsies, and forced into servitude...in Karuizawa?" _

Kyoya scowled, his bad mood worsening, but couldn't help but say at his best friend's stupidity, "Moron."

Kaoru suddenly asked, _"Wait, who's Akiko?" _

_"Hold on, you mean that girl that hung out with Alex when we visited Haruhi's place?" _Hikaru asked.

_"Oh! Yeah, I remember her. She comes over sometimes." _

"You two don't remember our regular guest?" Kyoya deadpanned.

**_"Of course we do! What kind of hosts do you think we are?" _**The twins sounded indignant.

Kyoya sighed.

"Never mind. Tamaki's going to make us take a little detour, so hurry up and get ready." Kyoya was going to have to fix himself up as well, maybe take a nice long shower to calm down. His hair was in dire need of fixing and... "Fuyumi, can you please stop messing with my things?" He stared at the mess his older sister had created, his eyebrow twitching ever so slightly. He had calmed down for the most part, so he was able to speak properly again.

"B-But...I don't know how it happens, but when I take them out they just don't want to go back in!"

"Then don't take my clothes out in the first place!" He exclaimed exasperated, his cool exterior dissipating again. "You're not even supposed to be here, father will throw a fit when he finds out." Fuyumi waved him off with a grin,

"Forget about it! Just tell me about this "Alex" girl you seem so fond of." To her surprise and utter delight a light pink spread across Kyoya's cheeks. He cursed under his breath before saying loudly,

"Don't bother yourself with it. She's merely Hikaru and Kaoru's sister," _For now, _he added silently. Once he figured out what was wrong, he was going to ask her properly. "I'm taking a shower. Please don't bother me for a while."

Fuyumi wasn't able to answer as Kyoya closed his laptop and walked over, grabbing some clothes that were lying around that she took out of his drawers, and headed into the bathroom. She smiled. "I don't know when they gained a sister, but..." _I'm happy for you, Kyoya. I'm sure you'll be able to sort out your lovers quarrel in the end. _Everything worked out somehow, one way or another.

_...is slowly vanishing from my life..._

* * *

_"Alex... Alex, it's almost time. Alex, are you there? Can you hear me? Akari, remember?" Alex groaned, shifting in her sleep before opening her eyes. She jumped and sat up straight, startled. All around her was blank empty space. "I...didn't exactly tell you the complete truth when we met. I didn't exactly die." _

_"Huh?" Alex blinked. This was sudden. Out of nowhere a barrage of coughs hit her and she leaned over, arms around her stomach. Blood splattered out and coated the white canvas, covering everything. _

_Suddenly she found herself running from a crazed man-or at least herself as Akari, in the girl's memories. The place was on fire. Her parents were dead. Akari was the only one left alive and she was running for her life frantically, screaming as loud as she possibly could as the man chased her. She tripped and was sent tumbling down, the man taking the chance to quicken his pace and pin her down, keeping her from escaping as he smiled twistedly. He twirled the knife, stabbing her in the leg and dragging the knife up. He removed it, ignoring Akari's painful screams, and right when she thought she was going to face death a man appeared out of nowhere, his hands slamming against the ground as electricity crackled about. _

_Blue electricity. Akari watched in horrified fascination as the man suddenly pulled a staff out of the ground, swinging it towards the attacker. The man who was trying to kill Akari blindly swung his knife, but it was easily knocked out of his hands by the newcomer's weapon. The attacker, sensing he was in danger, ran for it._

_She remembered the greasy hands that grabbed her before she managed to kick him where it hurt and ran; she would forever remember the gleaming brown eyes and the rotten teeth that monster held...his horrid breath... _

_The man who saved her dropped the staff and knelt down in front of her, sliding his hand against the wound on her leg and coating his skin with Akari's blood. She cried out in pain, blood seeping out quickly, before the man drew a strange symbol around her. He smiled, his brown eyes gleaming in the darkness as he clapped his hands. "It'll be over. It happened to me, and I didn't want it. I'm going to die for doing this, but you... you'll get to live. You have another you out there, I know it..._

_ I know it... Just you wait. You'll be saved. You'll meet that man." He slammed his hands on the ground, and the strange symbol he drew with her blood started to glow blue, electricity crackling. Akari continued to cry and scream, "He'll save you. He'll ask for a price, but that price is me. You're too young. Too young, too young... You'll meet her. Or him, I'm not really sure. I met a guy who had a female counterpart. It was strange. His name was Jeremy." _

_What the-Alex couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. What she was **feeling**. Were these more of Akari's memories? _

_After spending so much time in her dimension she managed to suppress the memories Akari had forced upon her. It took a while but she managed to do it. And now... _

_She watched Akari appear in front of Truth, completely unharmed as the white figure stared with a large grin. It laughed loudly, talking about the exchange of bodies and the "equivalence" of giving up a life to save a life. To send Akari to the border of Truth, the man gave up his own life so that there could be a transaction for her. A man who had once been a "puppet" himself._

_Elishua. God's Salvation. Who saved her life, and ruined another's. _

_"I lied to you, Alex. Can you ever forgive me? I was never dead... I was here the entire time, that was true, but I was still alive. There is always a price for human transmutation, and he paid it for me. I have yet to fullfill my exchange with you... f__or I am not his puppet." _

_Alex couldn't see, but she felt something like hands cupping her face. She had the feeling that she was staring straight into Akari's eyes, despite not being able to see the girl. _

"Alex! It's me, Haruhi. Are you feeling any better?" Alex groaned and opened her eyes, her vision blurring before taking sight of a petite brunette sliding into her room with a tray of food. Haruhi set the tray on the nightstand next to her bed and pulled off the rag she had resting on Alex's forehead, frowning worriedly. "You look like hell."

"Th-Thanks..." Alex breathed, wheezing. Her entire body hurt. "I shouldn't have come..." But she couldn't risk Kyoya coming over and seeing her. As long as she stayed in her room at the Inn she was safe. Haruhi and Misuzu have been taking care of her the entire time, leaving Akiko to do the work when they weren't there. "Don't... tell anyone I'm here, alright?"

"I don't understand why you plan on hiding this from everyone," Haruhi started, the door to the bathroom wide open so she could keep an eye on Alex as she wet the rag again and got rid of the access water, "but they're going to find out eventually. I mean_ I_ won't tell them, but they're either going to find out on their own or the twins are going to let it leak."

"I...I can't..."

"Shut up. No talking. You're only hurting yourself." Haruhi let out a sigh and spread the rag across Alex's forehead, biting her lip. "I...I still can't believe this is happening."

Alex tried to laugh, but ended up coughing the process. She forced a grin, trying to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes, "H-Hey, it's life, you know?"

"I know but... Alex, have I told you how my mother died?" Alex blinked and slowly shook her head, frowning. She knew her mother died from an illness, but Haruhi herself never told her. Wait, was Haruhi...? "...It happened when I was little. She worked a lot, all the time and did her best to care for me even when she was ill. One day...she just got really sick. She just wouldn't get better, Alex. And now it's happening to you as well." Haruhi looked down, disheartened. "I know...that there's not anything we can do. But travelling about and hiding your sickness from the rest of the club isn't going to make you better. You need to tell them, they deserve to know."

_...A puppet is merely a puppet. A messenger of sorts sent to change the direction of fate..._

Alex opened her mouth to responded, but Haruhi quickly clamped a hand over Alex's mouth.

"Don't talk. I know you told the twins, and I think Mori-Sempai and Honey-Sempai know, but Tamaki-Sempai is a bit dense. Kyoya-Sempai...he deserves to know the most. I know there's something going on between you two and I know that he suspects something is wrong. You can't hide it from him." Alex turned her head stubbornly. Haruhi narrowed her eyes, "If you think you're helping him by not telling him you're wrong. If you die and-and he finds out," Her voice cracked and she swallowed, blinking a few times. "Kyoya-Sempai isn't going to be happy. He'll be hurt more by the fact that you lied to him and didn't tell him at all then if you told him now."

Alex frowned, closing her eyes halfway. Shadows covered her face.

She knew it would hurt more at the end of the road, but if she left now then he could find someone else and be happy. He wouldn't have to deal with a dead girl.

Alex was, after all, more trouble than she was worth.

_...They're sent to a place where they are needed, to push people together..._

"_HARUHI! ALEX!_" Suddenly there was screaming and Haruhi scowled, standing up. "DADDY'S COME TO SAVE YOU!" Both girls made sour faces, and Haruhi stormed over to Alex's window, stress lines forming on her face at the sight of Tamaki using a blowhorn from inside a helicopter.

"THE HELL ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING HERE!?" They could hear Akiko screaming loudly down from her spot outside from where she was hanging the laundry up on the clotheslines to dry. "GO BACK HOME!"

Alex inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, able to imagine Truth laughing her head off at what was happening to her. She could just see the huge toothy grin and dark mist surrounding her. She opened her eyes and coughed again, feeling weaker by the second. Just a few more months...

_Their lives mean nothing in the end. After all, only "God" gets to choose what happens to them when the story ends. _

**And more drama. BUM BUM BUM! Alex probably won't be in the next chapter so much, but you know. (Shrugs) We'll find out. Read and review, feel free to bash on the whole "truth" thing. It's a bit complicated as well, but I like trying to make confusing plots because they work out really well in my head. It's writing it down that the challenge, which makes it a bit fun. Since Truth is here, would that make it a crossover? I have no idea. I don't think it would be, but... (Shrugs again) Sorry for the wait. here ya go. **

**Trying to explain things a bit more with Akari. She isn't exactly Truth's "Messenger" or one of his supposed "puppets". She's more of an...um, what's the word? "Accident", let's go with that. When her family was being murdered a man named Elishua, which mean's "God's Salvation" or "Salvation of God", was sent to Ouran as well, but he was killed for committing Human Transmutation on a living human-Akari. She lost her body and soul and was sent to Truth's gate, and they made a deal that when she was old enough and most likely able to survive the ordeal there would be another transaction. **

**That was where Alex came in-that was why she became one of his puppet's. Truth chooses people with certain names bestowed upon them. She was the defender of man. Akari did not have that name and was instead an extra chess piece. He takes people, certain people, and sends them to where he thinks they would do best at. He knows who will choose to stay or choose to switch back, but they still take a price. **

**Akari and Alex have the same price. **

**Can you guess what that is?**

**...I don't know if I'm being subtle enough. Sometimes I feel like things are really obvious, but I probably only feel like that because I know what's going to happen so it feels obvious to me. Is it obvious? I have no idea... Hm... I hope not. Oh well. YOLO, though in Alex's case...more like twice. **


	26. Everything is a Little Bit Broken: P2

_"People cry not because they're weak, but because they've been strong for too long." _

**December 16, 2014**

"What the hell are you guys doing here!?" Akiko snapped, glaring as she placed a hand on her hip. Her gray eyes were furious, narrowed as she scowled. "Go home!"

**"We think not!" **The twins snapped, sending her both looks. Akiko ground her teeth together and stood up straighter, standing on her toes as she glared up at them. **"We want to see Alex!" **

"Well, too bad! You aren't going to see her any time soon!" Akiko replied, frowning deeply. _I'm not sure if the twins know or not, but seeing that they live together they might. I don't want to risk it. _"Besides, she's busy!"

Hikaru and Kaoru looked skeptical and demanded, **"How so?" **

"She's working!"

**"Working on what?" **The twins never got their answer as Tamaki suddenly ran up and pushed them out of the way, reaching forward and grabbing Akiko's hands as he smiled down at her charmingly.

"My darling princess, please do forgive our interruption. But we are looking our friend, Haruhi. Have you seen-"

"I'm sorry, but please don't try that Host crap on me. I _do_ know Haruhi's secret, remember dumbass?" She cut in, watching as Tamaki turned to stone and began to sulk in a corner. The dark-haired girl sighed and ran a hand through her neatly cut bangs, which now went across her forehead instead of being parted in the middle. Hikaru noticed the change and asked in a dull tone,

"What's with the new hair style? Finally realize how weird you looked and decided to make a change?"

A vein popped on Akiko's forehead and she growled, "_Nooo_, this is how I normally look when I'm not at school! Now please excuse me while I go to fetch the laundry that your _stupid _helicopter made fly away!" She whirled around and stormed off, but not before turning her head and pointing a finger at them and shouting, "And don't you dare go looking for Alex!" She disappeared from view.

Mitsukuni commented with a pout, "Aki-Chan is in a very bad mood today, Takashi. Don't you agree?"

"...Yeah."

Kyoya stared at Tamaki's mushroom-growing form, his eyes hidden behind his glasses. He said, "Tamaki, are you going to sit there all day or are we going to find Haruhi and Alex?"

A effeminate voice suddenly cried out, "Oh _my! _Did you say Haruhi and Alex?" They turned their heads to see a man, at least they think it was a man, about forty wearing make-up with long auburn hair held back by a head band. He wore a red dress with a yellow apron on top. "You dashing hunks _must _belong to my cute little workers!" He looked like he wanted to say more but held back, the blush on his face seeming more prominent than before as he quickly ushered the Host Club's male members into the Inn.

Everyone except Kyoya looked startled, and the Shadow King calmly explained, "He's an old friend of Ranka's. They used to work at the same shop together years ago." Tamaki looked annoyed.

"Well, naturally you would know." Tamaki barely saw it, but he saw a flash of anger in Kyoya's usually calm and collected eyes. "...Kyoya?"

The Shadow King pushed up his glasses, crossing his arms over his chest casually. It was almost difficult to detect, but there was a dark aura forming around him, held back by a well-controlled temper. Kyoya was an expert at putting on a facade, and it was normally not too much of a hassle to do, but Kyoya was currently holding back the urge to break something-to storm this place down with his family's police squad of one hundred officers and hunt down Alex, to demand answers and find out what she was hiding from him.

Kyoya did _not _like being put in the dark, and Tamaki's words just worsened his mood. Kyoya _always _knew what was happening and who-was-who and if something was wrong with that person, but _Alex..._ Only she had managed to escape him, to wriggle herself out of his hold. She was distancing herself from him and he wanted to know _why_.

_Did I do something wrong? _He always wondered and now he was left pondering the thought if she no longer cared about him. _No. No, that's it. _It couldn't be it. What if she was playing him all along, for some little scheme she had put in her head? He _was _an Ootori after all, but that wouldn't make sense for her. She wasn't of this world. _There was absolutely no way in hell she was lying to me about that. Her behavior from the beginning adds it all up together. There was no possible way she was from this..."dimension", as she calls it. _Alex was clever, but not a genius. Suddenly a thought hit him, and he found himself completely ignoring Misuzu's speech about how he made a place for himself two years ago.

_Is she depressed? _Home-sickness was a common thing, and could lead to depression after a long while of not seeing one's family. It had been almost a total year since Alex arrived at Ouran, since she first ran into the Hitachiin brothers. Knowing that there was no way for her to get home, surely that must be why she was avoiding him-a stupid idea of her's made its way into her head and started to make her thing that by _avoiding him _she could get _better_. The moron.

"Oh, Akiko~! Where are you? Ah, come over here!" Akiko wasn't able to protest as Misuzu reached over and grabbed the girl by her shoulders, pulling her in front of him and shaking her back-and-forth like a bobble head. "Just look at this apron she's wearing; I made it myself! Isn't she completely adorable in it? Haruhi's wearing a matching one as well! Alex refused to wear one...then again, it's not like she could." That caught Kyoya's attention, and the embarrassed blush disappeared from Akiko's face as she raised a hand up and clamped it over Misuzu's mouth, hissing at him to shut up.

"Really?" Kyoya asked, sounding like he would if he was asking a question about the weather, "Why not?"

"Because she's taking a shower right now!" Akiko snapped, Kyoya narrowing his eyes at the obvious lie. However, instead of interrogating her he smiled and said,

"Oh, is that so? I assume she'll be down when she's done then? She must help around the Inn-Alex isn't one to let people do all the work by themselves, lazy she may be at times." Sweat beaded down Akiko's face, and even Misuzu looked a little nervous. Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other, both looking solemn, before shooting forward and tackling Akiko, causing the girl to let out a scream.

"G-Get off of me!"

Kaoru said quickly, "Don't be so mean to her, Kyoya-Sempai!"

"Y-Yeah! She's very obviously overworked! Just look at how she's sweating!" Hikaru offered an awkward yet pained grin as he reached over and pinched the girl's cheek painfully, causing tears to well up in her eyes as she struggled in their hold.

Mitsukuni looked horrified, ready to cry himself as he ran over to Akiko. Usa-Chan was held tightly to his side as he grabbed a piece of Akiko's apron, crying out, "No! Aki-Chan can't be overworked! That's not good for her health!"

Mori said nothing, merely standing there and watching the scene unfold.

Misuzu said indignantly, stopping Tamaki just in time to avoid a rant as he held a hand up to stop the madness, "Now just you hold on a moment! I do _not _overwork my helpers, despite them working for free! How dare you insinuate such a thing? Alex, the poor thing, just happened to catch a cold today and is in one of the guest rooms getting better. I do _not _want to hear you fussing about. She is to be left alone until she is better and _not _disturbed. Haruhi, the dear that she is, and Akiko have been helping me care for her as well as helping about my little Inn. If I find out that one of you boys, the twins not included seeing as they are related, are not allowed to visit her! Am I clear?"

As Misuzu spoke, his voice deepened and he started to sound like a father scolding his child, as if trying to protect them from harm despite the poor decision it was to his opinion.

After a moment, Tamaki spoke in confusion, "Wait a minute... why are Haruhi and the other two girls even here?" Akiko gained a tick mark at being spoken about as though she wasn't even there. She held her tongue however, and finally managed to push the twins off of her. "You said they were working for free, so..."

"Th-That means they're not indentured servants?" Mitsukuni finished, not releasing his arms from around Akiko's waist. The teenager quietly pat the boy on the head, watching the scene almost as silently as Mori.

"Ranka wanted me to watch over his darling daughter, saying _"put my little girl under your wing"_! He practically _begged _me, and after Haruhi invited Alex and Akiko along...well, I just couldn't refuse! Though I am still worried..." His voice lowered to the point where they just barely heard him, but he brightened and held his arms out to his side, exclaiming loudly and happily, "And since I still can't afford the desired help, it works out for everyone! They're such model employees; it's a shame I can't pay them anything!"

Akiko scoffed, and without even thinking about it picked Mitsukuni up and held him like she would a five-year-old, the surprised teen wrapping his arms around her neck and his legs around her waist. Usa-Chan was held by his arm, resting against Akiko's back. Mitsukuni was surprisingly light. "I'm rich, Misuzu. Even if you did have money to pay us, I wouldn't take any." Misuzu laughed.

"Oh, don't be that way! It's only right that you'd have earned it!" Akiko sighed.

"Whatever." Mitsukuni blinked and looked up at Akiko with his child-like, but adult-like intelligent eyes. Being this close to her he could see the muscles in her face move, and the slight down-turn of her eyes. She was sad, despite what her tough I-don't-care attitude was saying. _Everyone is sad... _He noted, remembering the looks on Hikaru and Kaoru's faces, and the way Misuzu appeared to be putting on a strong front. Kyoya kept switching back-and-forth from his Host facade and his Shadow King persona, his emotions conflicting with his mind and the way he usually appeared outside. Kaoru looked like he was holding back tears, Hikaru seemed like he was about to snap every time someone mentioned Alex, and Akiko...

She looked like she was going to run and hide, like she wanted to escape reality and never revisit.

_Takashi's sad too, _Mitsukuni noted, and rested his head against Akiko's shoulder and closed his eyes. Mitsukuni could tell that something was gravely wrong with Alex's health condition, and he knew his cousin could as well. Tamaki had no clue, and Kyoya...he was the smartest one of them all, the one who notices everything and anything without a single mistake in his calculations, and yet... _He's the most oblivious of us all. Even Tama-Chan knows that Alex is sick, he just doesn't know how bad. Kyo-Chan knows she sick, he knows she's hiding something, but he's going about it the wrong way. _

Mitsukuni slowly opened his eyes, watching as Haruhi finally made an appearance and started to descend down the stairs. He felt Akiko kneel down and he took that as the cue to release her, his feet touching the ground as she set him down. Akiko stood up straight, mumbling about going to the kitchen, and Tamaki instantly ran forward to tackle Haruhi, hugging her to him as though in fear that she had vanished from his life.

To his surprise she didn't argue, a sorrowful look in her eyes. Tamaki had probably noticed it, and without asking about it just hugged her, knowing that was what she needed most at that moment. It lasted only a few seconds before Haruhi regained her composure and gave Tamaki a look, causing him to pale and start growing mushrooms in another corner.

"Ah, Haruhi!" Misuzu finally noticed and clapped his hands together happily, before asking, "How is she?" Haruhi paused, taking note of everyone else in the room, before stating bluntly,

"The same as usual. I don't think she'll be able to walk without causing a fit. I just finished giving her lunch." Misuzu appeared slightly more disheartened.

"I see... Well, thank you for checking up on her. I'm sure she appreciates the company."

Kyoya's glasses glared against the light of the room, and he quickly closed the black book her was writing in. He'd have to follow either Haruhi or the twins to Alex's guest room if he wanted to speak to her, otherwise he'll get lectured by Misuzu and he wanted to stay on as good terms with him as possible. For all he knew it could be beneficial to be on his good side in the future. _I can't let my emotions get the better of me. I need to remain calm. _But calm was slowly becoming a foreign word to Kyoya, who seemed to be throwing fits every other month. His knuckles were now bruised from when he punched a table earlier.

"...Yeah." Haruhi agreed. Tamaki frowned and removed himself from his corner, questioning,

"Is she that sick?" Something seemed to flicker in his blue eyes. A painful memory appearing in his head, and a memory of Haruhi's that she once shared with him. He turned his head to look at the brunette, worry pricking at him. "Is it really just a cold?"

Akiko walked out of the kitchen, scowling, "Of course it's just a cold, blondie. What else would it be? If you don't believe me, go check up on her yourself." She was just saying that to get them to drop the subject about the brunette, trying to use to reverse psychology on them.

Before Kyoya could stop himself he placed a hand on Tamaki's shoulder, saying with a _very noticeable _aura surrounding him, "Let me come with you." He gave a shit-eating grin as darkness threatened to take over the whole room, suffocating everyone with the held-back rage. "I want to make sure she is alright as well." He saw through Akiko's plan, the dark-haired girl scowling.

Misuzu gave another dark look. "I already said you can not. Hikaru, Kaoru..." He turned to look at the twins, who were startled that he knew their names. "If either of you wish to visit Alex, her room number is one twelve. If I hear about _any _of you in Alex's rooms that do not have my permission..." He narrowed his eyes, letting the threat linger for their minds to pick up and figure out what would happen. He suddenly smiled, a cheerful aura bubbling around him as he clapped his hands together again. "Well, anyway, you're allowed to stay here regardless if you wish, though... Oh dear. I'm sorry. I just remembered we only have one vacant room left."

Haruhi quickly cut in, sharing a look with Akiko, "That's fine. They were leaving anyway."

"_Actually_," Tamaki said smoothly, smiling as he lifted a hand to his chin. "Karuizawa sounds wonderful, and I quite like what I've seen of Pension Misuzu."

"Yeah!" Mitsukuni agreed, "And Karuizawa is so nice and pretty! Right, Takashi?" The giant nodded his head. Kyoya commented, pushing up his glasses,

"Overseas travelling _is _rather exhausting."

Kaoru spoke first, saying, "And since Alex is here, we're staying here."

"And nothing is going to change our minds!" Hikaru finished. They slung their arms around Haruhi's shoulders, who paled. Hikaru cast a quick glance to Akiko, who was shaking. He raised an eyebrow but paid to no mind, not caring much about what was going on with her. _Alex isn't going to leave us. She can't. She won't. _He refused to let her. "And since we're her brothers,"

"We get to stay in the vacant room."

**"We won't let anyone else take that room!" **Kyoya's eyes darkened, and everyone felt a chill go down their spines. **"...Not even you, Kyoya-Sempai." **

He quickly gave a smile and said with closed eyes, "I never said I was participating for the room, did I? No, why do such a childish act? I have a cottage nearby, anyhow."

The twins looked at each other from the corner of their eyes.

Hikaru suggested, his voice on the border of cold, "Here's an idea. Kaoru and I bet you'll like it. How about a little competition?"

"We'll call it "Guest Relations Odd-Jobs Conquest for Pension Misuzu"." Kaoru explained.

"It's very simple; we all just lend a hand around the place this afternoon,"

"-and whoever makes the best impression on Misuzu-Chii gets the vacant guest bedroom."

**_And the one who'll get the vacant guest room... _****_will be us. _**Hikaru and Kaoru refused to lose.

Misuzu quickly interrupted, stars in his eyes, "I like it! I think it's an absolutely _wonderful _idea!" Haruhi and Akiko quickly left to mope in the corner, "Yes! The winner of the competition will be decided by how refreshing they are! Remember, refreshing is the name of the game in Guest Relations!" Misuzu pointed and grinned at them all, "Now don't think this is going to be a walk in the park. I plan on working you boys to the bone!"

* * *

Hikaru was left to collect trash from the rooms while Kaoru went outside to sweep the patio and deck. He had two trashbags full at this point, and was merely fueled by the fire of keeping his sibling alive. He may have not done much housework at all in his life, but if he could just keep an eye on her... _Damn it all! _Hikaru ground his teeth together and cursed out loud, dragging the heavy trashbags with him across the hallway.

He stopped in front of a door and set the bags down, knocking a couple of times and waiting for someone to answer. Annoyance pricked at him and he knocked again, and when nobody answered he scowled and opened the door himself, slightly surprised at the knowledge of it being unlocked. He made to walk into the room, but one step in he lifted his head up and froze, his blood going cold.

Lying in the bed was Alex, sweating bullets and pale as death. Above her was..._Alex_. O-Or, at least a girl who _looked _like Alex, with choppy bangs and shorter hair. She was kneeling on Alex's bed with a hand resting over the girl's chest, right where her heart should be, and was whispering something.

Something about it _"not being time" _and _"she would have to wait just a little longer"_. The girl's glasses nearly fell off of her nose, and when she lifted her head up she tensed, a smile spreading across her face and stretching the scar that went across her jawline.

Hikaru's heart stopped beating for a split moment, staring into those familiar yet completely alien eyes. The figure was transparent, like it was but wasn't there, and when he blinked the girl was suddenly gone, and Alex was left writhing in pain and gasping, coughing harshly. Without even thinking about it he dashed over to her and ran a hand against her cheek, alarmed at how her skin was practically burning-like it was on fire. She wheezed and coughed, and Hikaru wanted to curse-to _kill_ god or nature or_ whatever_ did this to her.

He wasn't about to lose one of the people who broke into his and his brother's world. Someone who managed to become something like family to him. He...He couldn't. He couldn't lose her.

"Alex, Alex, calm-calm down. B-Breathe!"

She gasped, and Hikaru noticed how bad she looked. She was only in Karuizawa for a week, and he knows for a fact that she was eating and yet it appears that she lost multiple pounds. She almost looked like she hadn't eaten in weeks. "Alex?" She stopped breathing for a moment and Hikaru felt like he was going to break. He shakily raised a hand to her neck, and choked on air when he felt a faint heartbeat. His legs felt like they were going to give out. After a few moments her chest started to rise and fall slowly, and he fell to his knees.

_Sh-She's okay... She's okay, she's okay, she's okay... _He tried to hold back the tears but they just didn't want to go away. His lips curled back and his whole body trembled, his hand reaching out and grabbing hers tightly, but not so tightly for fear that her fragile limb would break and snap into tiny little pieces. He felt like if he made the wrong move he would never see her again. _She's okay... _He swallowed thickly, inhaling through his nose deeply as he reached his other hand up and started to wipe away the tears.

Alex coughed again and shifted, her eyes opening groggily. She looked exhausted, defeated, worn... "H-Hika-" She went into a barrage of coughs, painfully raising an arm up to cover her mouth. Blood splattered against her hand and Hikaru flinched, standing up and grabbing a bunch of tissues that were on the nightstand beside her. She reached out to grab them but Hikaru quickly stopped her, cleaning the blood off for her.

She was about to protest but bit her tongue, tired of seeming helpless but knowing that she probably couldn't do it herself. After a few moments she smiled, asking with a raspy voice, "What's the matter, Hikaru? G-Get in a fight with Kaoru?"

Hikaru lowered his head, and a breeze blew into the room from the open window. "It's not... It's not that..." _Damn it. _Hikaru could barely talk without choking up. He stood up, refusing to look at her. "I...I came to pick up the trash. I got the trash now, see?" He held up the red napkin, his back facing her. She turned her head and stared at him, her smile faltering just a little. "I..I'm going now. S-See you later."

She watched him leave the room, closing the door behind him. It was only when she was certain he was gone that her smile fell and she found herself trying to hold back her own tears. "Y-yeah... See you later, H-Hikaru." S-She would...

Alex turned onto her side, curling into a ball and burying herself underneath the blankets as she coughed again, wheezing as she tried to breathe. _I-I'll see you later... I'll see you later. I'll another day. I will... _She tried not to cry, to hold back the tears, but they seemed unwilling to listen and fell against her wishes.

Piano music suddenly began to play, and Alex found herself relaxing as a small peaceful smile formed on her lips, the pleasant and beautiful sound almost lulling her into sleep. Her eyes caught sight of her phone, and she tiredly reached an arm out to grab it.

* * *

Akiko shifted the laundry basket, cursing the sun for glaring down at her. She hated having her black hair, it just made her a target for sunlight. It amazed her to no end at how well Tamaki could play the piano, something she just found out from Kyoya a little while ago. She spoke to Haruhi about what they were going to do about Alex's secret, seeing how the entire club was here, but decided to just let things play out.

It would no doubt be an end to all their summer vacations if word got out. Haruhi only found out a few days before vacation started, and Akiko heard the news when Haruhi invited her to stay at Pension Misuzu with her in order to keep a better eye on Alex. _That girl's such an idiot... _she thought, biting the inside of her cheek. She let out a sigh and walked towards the front yard, only to pause when she saw a twin by his lonesome. To her surprise it was Kaoru instead of Hikaru, the one whom she thought would be moping and yelling at himself for the stupidest things.

She didn't know much about Hikaru, or even Kaoru for that matter, but it was easy to tell who the calm twin was and who the angry brother is. She deducted Hikaru as a Tsundere. Akiko _was _an Otaku after all, and did fangirl over many things so it was plainly obvious that she could guess persons sterotypes. Her theory of him being that of a Tsundere was proven when he helped her out at the commoners market a few months back.

Akiko hung her head and groaned, hating herself for what she was about to do, before plopping the tub of clothes down and heading towards the steps with crossed arms. Kaoru snapped out of his thoughts and watched her curiously, surprised to see her heading over to him.

"Where's your mess of a brother?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the redhead.

"Oh... He went to get some more trashbags. I finished sweeping the porch and texted him earlier saying I would help with the trash."

"I see." She stood next to him for a few moments, before asking when she saw no one was around, "What...what are you going to do about Alex? I mean..." She tried to fix her question, seeing Kaoru's shoulders stiffen, "She's...She's not getting any better, Kaoru. I..." There was no way to approach this subject kindly or tenderly. Akiko swallowed, seeing Kaoru clench his fists. His jaw tightened. "I don't think..."

"She's fine!" He snapped, before flinching as he looked at her. He took a step back, shoving his hands into his pockets and stammering as he ducked his head. "Sh-She's fine... I-I'm sorry for snapping at you like that, but... Sh-She'll be okay. I-I know she will. Just-Just a gut feeling I have, o-okay? So-So don't go making any assumptions!"

Akiko looked startled at the tears welling up in Kaoru's eyes, the younger brother clearly shaken by the sudden subject. He removed his hands from his pockets and hugged himself, rubbing his arms with his hands. "I-I was just..." She swallowed, blinking away her own tears and nodding. "Yeah, you're right. I-I was stupid to think otherwise."

"Y-Yeah...you were." The piano playing continued in the background, somehow alleviating just the slightest bit of tension away from the situation at hand.

* * *

Kyoya stood there silently from inside the building, the music like a piercing siren to his ears at what he just heard. Alex _was _sick. Sicker than he imagined.

Now everything was starting to make sense, all the tiny little puzzle pieces fitting together to form the bigger picture. The reason why the twins were refusing him visits to their home when he wanted to see Alex, why the girl was suddenly avoiding him all this time, why the twins kept hovering around her more than usual the past few months to the point where it was nearly suffocating.

The tiny box he had in his jacket pocket suddenly felt like led. The conversation his father had with him repeating in his head, echoing all his painful thoughts.

_"I'm warning you, Kyoya. That girl is trouble. Being an Hitachiin she is part of one of the more powerful families, but if you stay with her it will only hurt you." _

He didn't understand his father. He avoided him practically since childhood, drilling it into his brain that he had to be better than his brothers, sparing no love for him at all. Yoshio Ootori would never accept failure as an option, and that included having a failure for a son. Kyoya did everything in his power to get his father to recognize him, to make him the next heir for the Ootori Group foundation. He was the third son... Kyoya was nothing compared to his siblings, who actually _got _their father to recognize them and their importance, who gave love to them and Kyoya's older sister.

Kyoya was never shown love by anyone other than Fuyumi and his mother, who appeared even more rarely than his father.

So why had his father seemed to suddenly care about his well-being? It merely confused him to no end and he just couldn't figure it out; it was another puzzle he had been unable to solve. Yoshio Ootori suddenly seemed just the littlest bit less heartless than what Kyoya had been led to believe his entire life, and it dumbfounded him.

Yoshio had been warning him that he knew something was wrong with Alex, something that couldn't be helped, and if he stayed with her (something that he had no idea how his father found out, but didn't put it against him as he knew the man was smarter than he sometimes takes him for) he would only end up hurt.

Alex was dying.

It didn't seem to quite resonate in his head. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he slowly pulled it out, staring with dead eyes at the text he received.

_This is a cowards way of doing it_

_but I'm too scared to actually_

_say it to your face. _

_Please don't hate me for this. _

His phone received another text after about two minutes, and he dully scrolled down.

_You're amazing. Brilliant. Smartest person I know. _

_You're cold and calculated at times, but_

_that's what makes you...you. _

_You're kind, though you don't really _

_show it to people often and you use "moron" _

_as an affectionate term. You bubble up your feelings_

_and keep them inside until you can't hold them back _

_anymore and completely snap. You comforted me when_

_needed despite how bad you are with people and_

_you scare the hell out of me when you get silently _

_mad. __You make me laugh,_

_you make me smile, you always make me feel better_

_just by being there with me. _

_But I'm not really an Hitachiin. _

_I'm just a girl plucked up off_

_the streets by the twins and_

_forced to join a Host Club to entertain random people. _

_It would never work out. You knew that, that's why we _

_kept "us" a secret. It was never going to work out. _

_Your dad would probably get you engaged to some _

_random rich girl ( bet you she wouldn't be as weird as me XD)_

_and would make you happy. _

_So we're through. Sorry isn't going to cut it, I'm not that stupid. _

_You just won't be happy with me. _

_Bye, Kyoya. Love you, and...please don't kill me. _

He reread the last line repeatedly, his brain trying to process what he had just read and the information he just found out. Alex was dying and...she broke up with him?

Instead of feeling broke and completely destroyed, he found himself amused. So _fucking _amused at her attempt of a "good bye". Oh, he was so damn amused. But he wasn't just amused. No.

He was fucking _pissed_. He was about to storm up the stairs to room one twelve and interrogate the hell out of her, to yell at her and demand what made her think that he was going to let her go so easily. Kyoya was the _Shadow King_, and as far as he was concerned...

Alex was _his_. He was going to stick her in the damn hospital and keep her there until she got better. He was going to strap her down to the hospital bed and force feed her whatever medicine his family's hospital could offer to help keep her living.

Kyoya didn't realize how tightly he was holding his phone until he heard a loud _crunch _and found himself staring at the pieces of metal and plastic on the ground. He had snapped it in half. He saw something fly in the corner of his vision and turned his head, watching with stunned eyes as Akiko suddenly tackled Kaoru, barely pushing him out of the way as he fell onto the porch with the girl on top of him, covering his body as best as she could with hers as a flower pot fell and hit her back, breaking into pieces and slicing her clothes and cutting bits of her skin as water soaked her clothing completely, some red coloring the light apron and shirt.

_"Everyone wants happiness, no one wants pain, but you can't make a rainbow without any rain."_


	27. Everything is a Little Bit Broken: P3

_"It's never the tears that measure the pain, sometimes it's the smile we fake." _

**December 16, 2014**

Akiko barely caught sight of the flowerpot falling when she lunged. It was a spur of the moment thing, filling her with adrenaline and an urge to protect the man who would surely have become a victim. "Kaoru, look out!" He was barely given any time to respond as her arms latched around his neck, her body weight being slammed into him faster than he could blink as he was sent tumbling backwards and onto his back, the girl on top of him and covering him as best as she could with her smaller frame.

Something sharp sliced Kaoru's cheek and he flinched, only to widen in his eyes in horror when he realized what had happened. _That wasn't... _It wasn't supposed to happen like this. No one was supposed to get hurt from that small prank. No one was supposed to be... "A-Akiko! Akiko, hold on!" He shifted and pushed the girl up, causing her to groan as the blood and water mixed together and stained her clothes, trailing down her back. He quickly moved behind her and paled intensely, hating the world for everything that was happening in his life. Everything was going all wrong.

Alex was dying and now Akiko was hurt because of him and his brother.

Kaoru carefully plucked out some shards of the pot out of her skin, having untied her apron and pushed her shirt up to reveal her back. She let out a small sound of pain and he flinched, apologizing.

"Kaoru! Kaoru, what happened-" Hikaru's voice died, caught in his throat. He stood there mortified, staring at the blood trailing down Akiko's back. _No... _This couldn't be happening.

"Oh my god, are you two okay!?" One of the girls who had accidentally knocked the flower pot over cried out from the window they were looking out of on the second floor. "I-I'll call an ambulance-"

Akiko finally spoke, snapping, "I don't need an ambulance! It's just a few cuts! It's not like my back is broken or anything." Hikaru and Kaoru both flinched at those words, but relaxed just the slightest when they realized that she had a point. It _was _just a few mere cuts, and nothing _was _broken. Akiko let out a his as she yanked her hand away from the ground, having sliced her palm on some of the terracotta. "Ow... You owe me for this, ginger." She scowled, before trying to joke, "I'm a hero now, right? That makes you my damsel in distress."

"Y-Yeah..." Kaoru stammered, and Hikaru knelt down beside him, attempting to pick up the broken pieces of the pot and the crushed flower, sticking them in one of the trashbags he brought with him. There was a silence and Hikaru spoke,

"You're an idiot, Urushihara. But...thanks. For...saving my brother." He turned his head, a light pink dusting over his cheeks. He was completely ashamed of his and his brother's idea to win the contest, seeing that it had hurt someone, but was embarrassed to be thanking _her_. His head shot up and he stared at Kaoru alarmed, a thought suddenly hitting as his eyes zoned in to Kaoru's face, "Kaoru! You're hurt!" He was about to start fussing over him, but Kaoru stopped him and said,

"Akiko's hurt worse, Hikaru. She tried to save me." Akiko was about to tell them to stop talking about her like she wasn't there, but Haruhi suddenly slammed the door to the patio open with a first aid kit in her hands.

"I saw what happened! Are you both okay? I went to get the first aid kit as fast as I could as soon as I saw it hit Akiko and I-" She cut herself off, seeing how grave the twins expressions were. She frowned and looked down, feeling sad herself before shaking her head and kneeling down, getting out some cottonballs and pouring some water on it from a waterbottle she had in her apron's pocket. Akiko let out a hiss as Haruhi cleaned the wound, but the brunette was surprised when Hikaru reached out and grabbed Haruhi's wrist, pulling the cotton balls away from her while Kaoru rummaged through the kit for some bandages.

"We can do this, Haruhi. You just...go back to work." Hikaru almost couldn't believe what he was saying, finding himself almost out of character. He normally wouldn't care if someone got hurt in their pranks, but... _Alex really did change us for the better, huh? _Ever since she and Haruhi came along...

"Here, I found some ointment," Kaoru said lifting up the tiny tube to show his brother.

Akiko scowled, "I can do this myself." She reached out to grab it, but Kaoru held it out of her reach and gave it to his brother. Haruhi sighed and stood up, brushing the dirt off of her jeans before heading back inside to grab a broom, planning on cleaning up the tiny pieces of terracotta that Hikaru missed. "Hey-"

"Just hold still!" Hikaru snapped, "Damn it..." Akiko huffed and slumped, only to hold back a sound of pain. She felt Hikaru brush the ointment across her wounds and she grabbed a fisthold of her shorts, irritated at how painful it was. Akiko wasn't exactly used to pain. "Why are you guys even doing this?"

They didn't answer, and she found her annoyance growing as her patience slowly started to degrade.

Hikaru let Kaoru put the bandages on her back while he worked on her cut palm. He quickly wrapped some ace wrap around her hand and Kaoru snapped the medicine kit box shut, briefly noting that it was Kyoya's medicine kit that he carried around with him because Alex always seemed to get hurt.

Kaoru thought glumly, _Not like he'll be needing that anymore... __No. No, she's fine. She's fine. She's perfectly..._He swallowed and stood up, offering a hand to Akiko who pulled the back of her shirt down with a huff. She stood up and stumbled, holding tightly onto Kaoru's hand. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." She looked down at her feet, a light red dusting over her face. "Th-Thanks for...not that you needed to, anyway. I could have done it myself." She was completely embarrassed at the fact that she needed help. Her back was killing her however from how hard that pot hit her, and figured she'd have quite a few bruises to go along with the cuts. _Hot guys just touched my back. Perfectly normal. Okay. _She had to remind herself that it was Hikaru and Kaoru to calm her frantic heart.

"You stopped me from ending up in the hospital," He responded calmly, looking down at her and letting go of her hand. He lifted his head up to look at his brother, but tensed in surprise when Hikaru ran up and tackled him in a hug. He grabbed onto Kaoru's shirt, his arms tightly wrapped around his little twin brother, and muttered,

"You scared me there..." Kaoru wrapped his arms around Hikaru's waist in surprise, frowning and lowering his head as his eyes became half-lidded. "I don't want to lose you too..."

"It's fine, Hikaru. It was only a little scratch, see?" He pulled back from his brother and brushed his thumb across the wound of his cheek, a little bit of blood staining his skin. Akiko stared at the box on the ground and leaned down, picking it up and holding it with one arm as she opened it. She rummaged about for a few seconds before finding what she was looking for, and pulling off the seals she walked over to the brothers and slapped the bandaid onto Kaoru's cheek, stunning the twin.

"There. Now we're even." The brothers stared down at the smiling girl in shock. Seeing their expressions she grinned wider and commented, "What kind of Knight would I be if I let my little damsels stay in distress, hm?"

The patio door slid open and Haruhi walked out, broom and dustpan in her hands. She looked up, just as Misuzu appeared out of nowhere and started _squealing_.

"Brotherly love and a kindly friendship blooming over a heroic act! Oh~! So _refreshing! _One hundred refresher points! And the victory goes to-The Hitachiin _BROTHERS~!_" He climbed a ladder and jumped onto the roof of the pension, twirling and singing as he exclaimed the winner.

Suddenly the piano music that was echoing about and reverberating all around the Inn&amp;Breakfast stopped, sounding suspiciously like an organ. Akiko blinked, Haruhi stared in confusion, and the twins eyes were covered by their hair.

_I should feel happy about this..._

_...since this means we can keep an eye on Alex... _

_So why do I..._

_...still feel like shit? _

Hikaru and Kaoru, sensing that they were both thinking the same thing, reached out and grabbed the other's hand as they stared at each other out of the corner of their eyes.

They sensed an intruder at their gate, trying to picklock it open with a hairclip. Their gazes turned to Akiko, who was staring at them and clapping in mock-congratulations. She had opened so many locks, pushed her way through multiple doors, that only one was left standing. How many walls had she already knocked down without them noticing?

Haruhi congratulated the twins, only to stare at them in worry when they didn't say anything. Akiko watched Kaoru grab Hikaru's hand and lead him into the pension, stepping through the patio door and slowly closing it behind them. Kaoru wanted to see her... after all of this mess, he needed to see Alex for himself. He had been dragging it out, as it had been a few days since he last saw her, knowing that she was worse than when they spoke to her in the hospital that day. He was terrified of what he was going to see. However as soon as they arrived to room one twelve, they saw Kyoya closing the door silently behind him, his hair obscuring his eyes from view.

They could only watch as the Shadow King walked past them, his face completely expressionless as stopped temporarily to comment quietly, "What made you think that you could hide her from me...?"

Hikaru held Kaoru's hand so tightly he was shaking, watching Kyoya stare at them with dead eyes. His lips started to curl back, trembling as if he were about to cry, before his face slipped back into its emotionless facade and he continued on his way down the hall, his shoulders stiff in an attempt to correct his posture.

Kaoru's lips turned into a deep frown, and found his theories about Kyoya and Alex correct-at least to a certain point. _I'm not sure who's more torn about this whole situation. Hikaru and me, who love her like a sister, or Kyoya-Sempai... w_ho clearly holds feelings much _much _deeper than friendship for the girl.

* * *

Tamaki found his dreams completely crushed. Those damn shady twins had _won _the competition and now he was stuck having to go to his family's cottage in the area, leaving poor Haruhi at the twins mercy! He doubted they'd try anything with Alex, she was their precious little sister after all, and Akiko knew how to whip 'em up into shape. But Haruhi was completely defenseless against them, his darling little girl was going to have to put up with nothing but horrors!

He ran his hands down his face, fear running up-and-down his spine at the terrible thoughts rushing through his head. Maybe he can convince Haruhi to stay with him at the cottage instead of at the pension? Oh, but what if she gets mad at him again? Tamaki gained a brilliant idea, deciding that he'd just call her every five minutes to make sure she was okay. It was better than having Kyoya put cameras in the twins room to make sure they didn't sneak out and try to attack her!

Haruhi would get really mad at him then... Why couldn't it have been him? His darling Haruhi... his poor little girl!

Maybe he would go ask Kyoya for advice. He almost started to dial his phone number, but paused. He had a feeling in a his gut... _I think I'll pay him a visit, actually. It's been a long time since we had an actual conversation! And his house still didn't have a kotatsu the last time I went over! _He pushed himself off his bed, calling for his chauffeur.

After about ten minutes of driving, Tamaki cleared his throat as he strolled up to Kyoya's cottage, ignoring his urge to rush up the steps as fast as he could so he could tackle Kyoya and ask him for advice.

He pressed a button on the door, announcing that it was him, and after a moment he heard Kyoya's voice come out from the speakers, saying softly, "Come in."

Tamaki knew something was wrong instantly. Slowly opening the door, he led himself through the living room. He frowned and proceeded cautiously, calling out his friend's name as he neared Kyoya's bedroom. The living room appeared perfectly normal, and as he cast a quick glance to the kitchen nothing seemed out of order. He knocked on the bedroom door, stopping. "Kyoya, are you in there?"

There was no response for a long moment, and Tamaki was about to walk away and check the bathroom when he heard the bedroom door unlock. The blonde turned his head and frowned, slowly reaching a hand out to the doorknob. He turned the knob and pushed the door open, squinting his eyes at the sudden darkness. He reached a hand out to the side, stiffening when he heard footsteps walking about the dark room, and flipped on the light.

He blinked multiple times to adjust his eyes to the light and froze, staring in horror at the sight before him.

Kyoya's room was utterly trashed. Tables were flipped over and chairs were broken, his bed sheets thrown everywhere and the pillows having the feathers ripped out of them. The lamp that used to sit on his nightstand was crushed to pieces and rested against the floor on the other side of the room. Everything in the room was practically destroyed...

Everything except Kyoya himself, who was close enough to the breaking point already. Tamaki almost didn't believe what he was seeing-he almost _couldn't _believe it. "K-Kyoya..." He whispered, seeing the man pick his pineapple laptop off the floor. His clothing and hair was disheveled, as if he no longer cared about keeping appearances, as if he had just woken up and gotten out of bed, throwing on his clothes and not caring about being neat and putting on his usual facade. He wasn't wearing his glasses.

He looked almost completely lifeless, and his eyes...

Tamaki's blood ran cold and without even thinking about or asking what was wrong he ran forward and tackled Kyoya in a hug, knocking the man backwards and pushing him onto the bed. Kyoya let out a grunt, but didn't fight back or yell. It was almost as if he didn't have the strength to anymore, and just telling Tamaki that he was able to enter the cottage must have taken a lot of energy out of him.

"...Why are you even here, Tamaki?" Kyoya finally asked, laying there with Tamaki on top of him. His laptop had been dropped on the bed beside him and Tamaki's arms tightened. "Go home." His voice was low in pitch, barely even audible.

"No. Not...not while you're like this." Tamaki couldn't stand seeing his best friend like this. He had no idea what could have driven to destroy his room like he had; he knew Kyoya tended to bottle his feelings inside, something that was very unhealthy for a person, and when he couldn't control them anymore he snapped and went on a rampage. Kyoya was... _is _more self-contained and conscious than anyone Tamaki ever knew-even more so than Alex. He knew she got upset whenever someone mentioned her scars, or even started to judge her based on them. Kyoya always put on that mask of his... Tamaki and Alex have been the only ones to see it take down.

He would never admit it, but Kyoya was pretty damn self-conscious. He always put on appearances to please other people, always acted like someone he was not... As a "Host", as an "Ootori". His name was like a curse... Tamaki remembered what it was like when he remembered seeing Kyoya's true form for the first time, and how he had called him evil and scary. That didn't scare Tamaki away though. Kyoya was his best friend. He knew everything about him and Tamaki him.

Then Alex came into the picture and turned Kyoya upside down, ripping that mask away without even trying. They were inseparable, like two peas in a pod, the Shadow King and his little Queen. Tamaki could barely even see Kyoya without Alex by his side and vice versa, but lately...

"Kyoya, I'm...sorry for asking, but does this have something to do with Alex?" He felt Kyoya stiffen and without warning the dark haired male pushed Tamaki off of him, reaching out a hand and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, glaring daggers at him. "Kyoya?" Tamaki watched with wide eyes as Kyoya scowled deeply, his face resembling that of pure rage-pure unadulterated rage that just could not be contained, and as Kyoya opened his mouth to scream at Tamaki to leave him alone his voice cracked, his lips trembled, his shoulders and hands started to shake, and before he could even attempt to retain any of his dignity and pride by turning away the tears flooded his eyes and streamed down his face, an anguished cry escaping his lips as he released Tamaki and leaned forward, his forehead resting against Tamaki's shoulder.

Kyoya was completely destroyed. He thought... He had thought that if Alex went to a hospital, his family's hospital, she could get better. They had the medicine that could cure things like Tuberculosis-even the most stubborn of ones, but when he arrived in her room and started to try and convince her to go to the hospital, she revealed everything to him. How she had tried, and failed, to get cured, how she had multiple tests run on her and how every doctor told her it was incurable.

Nothing could be done to save and he...

"God _damn it_, Tamaki..." He held onto his moronic friend tightly, the blonde alarmed at the sudden change of personality and attitude Kyoya had given him. "I... I let myself... I let her in and now..."

"Kyoya, tell me what's wrong," Tamaki pleaded, trying to understand what was wrong. It very obviously had something to do with Alex. Yes, she was sick, but it wasn't like it was anything serious. Maybe they had gotten into a fight and Alex refused to forgive him? _That wouldn't make any sense though. She always forgives him. _Tamaki continued, "What's the matter between you and Alex?"

Kyoya pushed Tamaki away from him again, glaring with red puffy eyes, the tears streaming down his face uncontrollably as he shouted, "She's _dying _you imbecile! What do you think's the matter? She's _dying _I can't do a single thing about it!"

"Wh-What?"

Kyoya laughed at the look on his friend's face. The look of complete and innocent confusion.

"She's not dying-all she has is a simple cold, like Misuzu-Chii said-"

"That's to keep all _you _who don't know about it quiet! Alex didn't want anyone to worry, why do you think she tried to break up with me?"

Tamaki was a bit overwhelmed at this point, and found himself on the verge of crying as well. "She... You two were dating?" Kyoya didn't speak anymore, just merely pulled himself away from Tamaki and crawled over to the other end of the bed near the wall, sitting up with his legs dangling over the edge. He hung his head, reaching his hands up to his head to ruffle his hair, his chest feeling as though he had taken a bullet to the heart.

The heart he only recently discovered he had. The heart he had built with walls, encasing in a deep freezer and icing to the point to where it could never melt. He was probably never going to recover. He had let his defenses down, his mask from humanity was completely ripped off and torn to shreds, his heart unfrozen and caressed gently with warm hands and kind words. A goofy smile... bright brown eyes that glowed when she looked at him, who's tears he repeatedly wiped away, who he said he would never let be taken from him...

He told her she had a second chance at life. Had he been lying to her this whole time? Her life was being taken from her faster than either could blink.

"...I was going to propose."

"What?" Tamaki looked up in alarm, visibly shaken from earlier. He looked startled and stunned at the same time. Kyoya's mouth felt dry, his throat sore. His eyes stung as if they were burned by sunlight. "You... So you were together?"

Kyoya inhaled sharply, feeling a migraine forming. He brushed his bangs back with his fingers and wiped at the tears on his face with his sleeve, trying to get them to stop falling so he could recollect himself. He...He had actually needed a hug. He still needed one. He just wanted someone, his mother-even his sister, to hug him close and never let go, to tell him everything would be alright. Kyoya felt like a little child who had broken their first bone. Who's favorite toy was taken away from them and to never be seen again.

But it wasn't that simple. The pain went so much deeper than that.

"Not..." He sniffled and scowled, feeling the bed shift from Tamaki's weight. "Not exactly. We were trying to keep it secret, make sure my father couldn't find out. She wasn't exactly rich or beneficial to the Ootori's in any way, shape, or form. My father would never have approved, Tamaki." The blonde sat next to him, his feet brushing against the carpeted floor, and after a moment of thought reached out and wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulder, pulling him into a comforting embrace. "He knew along, I soon found out. She became an Hitachiin, someone who could be beneficial, and he...he warned me. I didn't understand it at all.

He knew everything, Tamaki. He knew how I felt about her, what she did to me, and he... he told me to end it, because she would end up hurting me. Damn it all. Fuck." He let out a string of violent curses, aiming them at the world and the fates and whatever god had brought Alex to him. "I let her get too close. I left myself vulnerable... and now... she made me feel _human_, damn it. I-I can't..." _I can't live without her. _Kyoya was half tempted to kill himself, just so he could stay with her. A lover's suicide, he supposed. One-sided perhaps, but it would be out of love. A ridiculous notion of course, but it didn't mean he didn't want to. "I..." He inhaled sharply, and remembering the end of the message he received from her, said as the ache in his chest grew almost unbearable, "I love Alex."

"Kyoya..." Tamaki sounded surprised, then grew sympathetic and hugged him. Kyoya didn't make any sounds, any cries, didn't make a peep, but he could feel the cold tears falling one by one, unwilling to spare him and show mercy. It just hurt. It just so much.

All the puzzle pieces had clicked together at this point.

"I-I was going to ask her properly, h-have her..." He ditched most of the guards and had Tachibana with him only for advice, seeing as the older man was happily married with children and knew more about love and marriage than Kyoya himself did. He had planned to propose and keep her to himself, by his side, for as long as they both lived. Seeing as she was an Hitachiin her father probably would have agreed with the engagement, had Alex accepted, and Kyoya could finally have the one thing he wanted for himself. Alex. The clumsy, selfless, moronic, sarcastic, beautiful, intelligent, _idiot _that she was. He curled his hands into fists, squeezing his eyes shut.

Nothing, not once in his life had Kyoya Ootori have anything that he truly wanted, to go as planned. Everything had to be calculated, performed to perfection, not a single mistake. He had to exceed his brothers in everything: in school, in smarts and talent, in connections with people... He finally found something. He finally wanted something. He was so close to obtaining it, his fingertips just barely brushing against it, and now she was being ripped away from him and there was nothing he could possibly do to save her.

Kyoya was completely useless.

Tamaki said nothing, knowing how it felt to have a loved one get so sick they could almost die. He had no idea how his mother was faring in France, and Alex... he had no idea she was suffering so much, no idea Kyoya was in so much pain. No idea that he loved Alex, that the two had been "together". _Alex is...dying? _It still seemed as though his brain didn't want to process it. His family... Tamaki's family was being ripped apart again. Torn to shreds.

Kyoya tensed, feeling someone's eyes on him. Someone who wasn't Tamaki. Opening his eyes he slowly lifted his gaze, not moving an inch from his position, to see a transparent figure staring at him. Her eyes fluttered closed sorrowfully as she lowered her head, before looking up at him with a tiny smile, mouthing something.

His eyes widened. He knew who that figure was. At least, he was fairly certain he did. Alex had told him once before who it was, only ever mentioning her, saying that she looked just like her only with a few differences.

But Alex was wrong. This girl looked nothing like her. Alex was far more beautiful.

_"It'll be alright," _Akari mouthed, before vanishing once Kyoya blinked. Alright... how could anything be alright. Unless...

Alex described herself as selfish and immature, Akari a selfless idiot. Kyoya thought it was the other way around, Alex always risking her life to protect everyone-even random strangers. People she had never met. The old woman she fought a robber for which in turn caused her to get run over by the twins' limo, and for Kaoru whom she didn't even know at the time, jumping in front of him and taking a bullet to the shoulder despite her already badly injured state. Haruhi, who she died saving, and was only brought back thanks to Kyoya.

Alex was utterly stupid and insane and selfless, and out of what he heard of Akari... that girl was selfish. Selfish because all she cared about was repaying some debt to Alex. Selfish because she took everything away from Alex because she wanted to live again.

But Kyoya had to thank the girl. It was because of her that he met Alex in the first place. He also had to hate her, because she made him meet Alex and fall in love with her, and now Alex was dying because of she was still living. The world seemed out for Alexandria, unwilling to let her live. If she didn't get sent here to this dimension, she'd be six feet underneath ground. If Hikaru and Kaoru weren't the ones who found her and they didn't bring her to the hospital, she'd be dead still. If Mitsukuni hadn't been there with Alex at the resort, she'd be dead from water inhalation. And, once again, if Kyoya didn't wake her up and perform CPR when he did (despite how close of a call it had been) he'd probably be standing at her grave by now.

And, for the last time... the final time, she was truly dying. Nothing could be done this time. They used every single card they had. The cards that _they _held.

What was Akari planning? Kyoya could only wonder as he closed his eyes, finding comfort in Tamaki's embrace. An image of Alex smiling flashed through his mind, Kyoya remembering the way the sun hit against her eyes and made them look like the color of warm milk coffee...

_"You are the most beautiful thing I keep in my heart."_

**_Listening to "Sharing the same sky (Dearly beloved)" remix on soundcloud while writing this... oh gods the feels. Well, there we have it. Kyoya had went shopping with Tachibana for a ring, to properly "ask" Alex. However, things took a turn for the worst in his perspective... _**

**_I might put a poll up for who Akiko should end up with. "Kaoru" or "Hikaru". The names would probably be "Akaoru" and "Akihika". Well, read and review, peoples. I luvvles you all ~! (Holds hands up with while making the heart sign) I changed the story title to fit with the plot line better, considering the turn of things, so instead of Beauty is Overrated, it is now Love Me Till The End. A bit more tragic and interesting, isn't it? I'm so mean... _**


	28. Beauty is Overrated: P1

_"It hurts so much. Not to have you by my side, not to be around you, not to be with you... You're the pain that I won't give up."_

**December 17, 2014**

"Welcome to Pension Misuzu," Akiko began with a huge smile plastered on her face, the sight so clearly fake. "Please, follow me-Kyoya-Sempai?" She cut herself off, staring at the figure in front of her in shock. She blinked once, twice, then rubbed at her eyes with her free hand (the other currently holding a menu). "K-Kyoya-Sempai, are you alright!?"

Kyoya focused his stare on her, clearly unhappy and appearing as though he had not slept. His stare remained on her for a few moments before he straightened his posture, clearing his throat and smiling at her. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine," He replied, as if not knowing that he had circles underneath his eyes from lack of sleep. Tamaki had stayed at his place out of worry, the blonde fretting over not only him but Haruhi as well. He attempted to cook and that of which therefore set Kyoya's cottage on fire, leaving him to spend the night at the frivolous blonde's place instead. "How has Alex been doing?"

The realization hit Akiko like a ton of bricks, having just figured out the reason behind his bad mood and "host" attitude. She, as shown before, had been a major shipper of "Aloya", being able to sense something behind their deep friendship. It was obvious to her that they had feeling for one another, but it didn't really pick on her until now of how much Kyoya must really be hurting after finding out about the brunette's condition. The pain she felt formed on her face for a split second before she quickly put on her own mask, refusing to show how she truly felt.

"She's... stable."

"Meaning?"

"...She hasn't changed." Alex hasn't been getting any worse today. She was still in bed sweating terribly, wheezing and coughing with a really bad fever. So far they've been able to keep the fever at bay, but neither her nor Haruhi knew how long it would last before her temperature broke through the roof. The twins probably had it the worst... they were by her side most of the night, refusing to leave until Misuzu kicked them out in the early morning.

They were still in bed sleeping-Kaoru spread out across the floor after Hikaru had accidentally knocked him off the bed. Akiko, deciding to repay them for what they had done for her earlier, made a little futon for Kaoru and rolled him onto it, having been too weak to actually pick the ginger up and plop him onto the bed with his sleeping brother. Her heart almost broke when she saw them. Hikaru had been crying in his sleep, Kaoru curled up into a little ball and shivering, muttering Alex's name as if in a prayer, begging her to live.

Kyoya's smile faltered just a little, Akiko catching onto it just in time as he put it back in place. "I see," He responded, before saying, "Can you lead me to a table, please?" His tone had an undertone of a threat, signaling that he no longer wanted to continue the conversation. Akiko swallowed thickly and nodded, feeling a small cold chill go down her spine as she led Kyoya to an empty table.

It wasn't long before Hikaru and Kaoru came down the stairs bickering with Haruhi by their side, trying to calm them both down.

"I already told you that I'm sorry!" Hikaru snapped, sending Kaoru a scowl. The younger twin responded in kind, his arms crossed with his chin tilted in the air indignantly. "Why are you still mad at me!?"

"Because you _kicked me _onto the _floor!_ If it wasn't for Haruhi-"

"I already said it wasn't me, Kaoru." Haruhi cut in, annoyed.

"Then who _was _it!?" Kaoru growled, before flinching and raising a hand up towards her, a guilty look on his face. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to come out so-"

"It's fine," Haruhi responded with a sigh, exasperated and drained from everything. "It was probably Akiko..."

**"Akiko?" **They both spoke, both pausing in confusion. **"Why would she have done that?" **

"How should I know?" The brunette asked. "She's the only one who went into your room this morning. I was keeping an eye on Alex." The mood went sour after those words and no one spoke until they got to the bottom of the stairs, catching the mentioned black-haired beauty speaking to Kyoya. "Akiko-" The girl lifted her head, the very sight of her gray eyes turning to look at them causing the twins to divert their gazes with ashamed looks on their faces. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and turned her attention to Haruhi, the girl rushing over to her. "Do you know who placed the futon in the guest room Hikaru and Kaoru were in?"

"Eh? Oh, yeah, that was me... I was checking in on them, seeing how late they went to bed and all, and saw Kaoru spread across the floor, so I thought, "Why not"? and rolled Kaoru onto a futon." She shrugged nonchalantly, as if it weren't a big deal. "It..." She trailed off, unable to continue speaking as her eyes met golden caramel. "How are you two feeling?" Akiko changed the subject, no longer wanting to dwell on the fact that she moved a _shirtless _male in his sleep. A young woman is not meant to do such things, or see such a thing, until she is married; so her parents drove into her brain, or at the very least attempted to, that she should absolute _not _attend the Ouran Host Club. It was safe to say she didn't listen.

Hikaru looked at her confused, before his eyes widened. He then scowled at her, pulling up a chair at the table Kyoya was sitting at and growling, "It's none of your business." Akiko's worried looked vanished instantly, instead replaced with a dark glare.

"My apologies for being the slightest bit worried; remind me to just hate your guts for the rest of your time living." Kaoru, eager to stop the argument, pulled up a seat between his brother and Kyoya.

"Guys, come on, don't start this now. There are people wanting to eat here in peace." Hikaru looked at his brother in disbelief, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"But, Kaoru-"

"No, Hikaru. I don't want to hear it." Everyone, minus the innocent bystanders, listening stared at Kaoru in surprise, having not expected the calmer more patient twin to say something like that. "I understand that you're in a bad mood, that you're upset, but don't think that you're the only who feels that way. We are all under a lot of stress over what's happening to Alex, and you have to understand that we all care deeply for her. She's my sister as well, something I've informed you of many times, and Kyoya-Sempai is the one who loves her."

The tension only grew when Kyoya refused to speak up. His glasses merely glared over, hiding his eyes from view. He wasn't in the mood to play anymore games.

Hikaru opened his mouth to speak, but Kaoru cut him off and continued.

"Akiko," He looked at the girl for allowance of saying her name so familiarly, the girl merely shrugging in response, "and Haruhi are both caring for her as best as they can. Tamaki-Sempai, Honey-Sempai, and Mori-Sempai are all Alex's friends. Honey-Sempai and Mori-Sempai may not know what's going on exactly, but I can tell that they know something is wrong with her. You aren't the only one upset."

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you _are_. Hikaru, I _know _you. We've shared the same womb together, we grew up together, we used to depend solely on _each other_ after what happened." Hikaru winced, remembering the maid that betrayed them when they were kids. The only person they had wanted to tell them apart, the only person to say that no one could tell them apart... She was wrong though. She was very _clearly _so wrong. Kaoru's words stung like a bee, the cold truth of them hitting him in the heart. "You can not lie to me." Kaoru narrowed his eyes, gaze almost steely. "We. Are all. _Grieving_."

"Stop treating her like she's _dead!_"

Kyoya's voice had rang out, echoing around the pension as he stood up, pushing his chair back and slamming his hands on the table as he gave a terrifying glare towards Kaoru, the twin stiffening at the sight of his angered onyx eyes. His eyes suddenly widened when he realized his outburst and tried to compose himself, clearing his throat and standing up straight, a hand over his mouth silently.

After a few moments, still shaking, he muttered, "She's... Alex is still alive. Forgive me for my..." What was the word he was looking for? "disruption. I'm... I'll be in room one twelve." He removed his hand from his mouth, pushing in the chair, before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking up the stairs, the entire pension quiet from the sudden break in Kyoya's demeanor.

Haruhi, who was walking into the room after leaving indiscriminately for the kitchen earlier, stood there silently with a sad frown on her face, mumbling, "Poor Kyoya-Sempai..."

"Haruhi~!" Tamaki cried, rushing after her with a new dish he and Misuzu cooked up, along with a menu. "Wait for me! Ah, what happened?" He asked in confusion, completely oblivious to events that had just transpired in that room. Listening to some of the whispering happening from the guests who were there trying to eat, he learned a few snippets of the conversation and looked down at Haruhi, who had discovered _in the kitchen _that Tamaki knew of Alex's condition. His face turned serious for a split second before his lips curled upwards into a bright smile, trying to light up the room in an attempt to keep things light. "I came up with this new menu! Hikaru, Kaoru, Akiko! Come check out this new dish I organized!"

* * *

Kyoya couldn't take it anymore. He was practically _fuming_. His blood was on fire, and at the moment all he wanted to do was beat the shit out of someone. He needed to vent, he needed to rage, he wanted to tackle Kaoru and punch him in the face with the way he was talking about Alex. She. Wasn't. _Dead_. She was still alive and... He inhaled sharply, trying to calm himself by taking deep breaths as he closed the door behind him.

The room was quiet. So quiet that Kyoya wanted to scream. He wanted to find the "Angel" that stuck Alex with this face and strike a deal with him; his life for Alex's. However he doubted that possible and knew that only Alex, and that apparition of a girl named Akari, are able to contact him.

_"Let me ask you a question," _Kyoya heard a voice ask as he made his way over to the girl lying sick in the bed. _"Just what made you save her the first time?" _The first time... when she was locked in a closet by those girls during her first few days of Ouran. Kyoya didn't really know why himself; he saw her gone at the lunch table, listened to the twins' explanations about how she went to talk with the girls, and Akira explained that Alex was locked up in a janitor's closet. Then for a reason unbeknownst to him he got Miharu suspended from the school, threatening the other three with suspension if something like that was to happen ever again.

Alex... is more trouble than she's worth, always getting herself in trouble or hurt. It was always Kyoya who was left to patch her up. _"Why did seeing her hurt make you so angry? Watching those tears stream down her face..." _He felt a hand ghost over his shoulder. Kyoya didn't look. _"You loved her since the get-go, didn't you?" _However those feelings merely strengthened over time, to the point where it nearly took over his whole being.

"...What are you planning?" He asked, knowing very well who was speaking to him as he held Alex's small pale hand in his. There was a sigh, before the hand on his shoulder suddenly vanished, seemingly as though it was pollen being brushed away by wind. Kyoya let out a breath and leaned over, getting down on his knees. "Alex..." He had failed to keep her by his side. He had failed to _save _her. He raised her hand up and kissed her lightly on the back of her hand, frowning. The girl stirred in her sleep, coughing a little as her chest rose and fell heavily, her breathing labored. Beads of sweat trailed down her face, down her neck-all over her body. "Don't die on me... please don't die on me."

He heard the door open, but ignored it and the footsteps that took a few steps into the room before stopping. The black gaping hole in his chest merely grew. A pain so deep that not even time could heal. He ground his teeth together and squeezed his eyes shut, feeling himself start to tremble. He was so mad he was _shaking_.

"Don't you dare die on me," He growled, his voice barely above that of a whisper. The person standing at the doorway made their way farther into the room after having assessed the situation, and knelt down beside Kyoya, looking at the sickly brunette.

"...Is this her, Kyoya?" The woman asked softly, reaching a hand up and rubbing circles on his back comfortingly. "This is Alex?"

"...Yes."

"She's very pretty," Fuyumi commented, before wrapping her arm around him and giving him a hug. She rested her head against his shoulder, asking, "What's she like?"

Kyoya didn't answer for a long time. When he did, Fuyumi raised her head and looked at him surprise. "You would like her." His voice was soft and quiet. Fuyumi let a tender smile cross her face, giving her brother a comforting squeeze as she tightened her hold around him, whispering,

"I'm sure I would." Fuyumi could _see _how much pain he was in. It had taken her everything to convince their father to let her go to Karuizawa to check on Kyoya, and when she thought he was going to disagree she was more than surprised when he actually let her. She had this whole argument in her head to convince and he just let her go like that. She didn't know if their father was sick or not, but she was glad he did let her go. For if he didn't... Fuyumi closed her eyes, wishing she could save the girl so her baby brother wouldn't have to go through so much pain.

Fuyumi knows how it feels when you love someone and you can't do anything to help. It may have been an arranged marriage at first, but she gradually came to love him and when she heard about the plane crash... it was miracle he missed that flight. Fuyumi's world had been breaking down around her completely when she saw the news, but when he had called her... she broke down crying from relief.

To see Kyoya going through something similar... it was killing her. He was the youngest. He shouldn't have to be going through something like this.

* * *

Hikaru ground his teeth together in annoyance as the delivery boy, Arai, spoke to Haruhi as if they were best friends. Akiko casually handed him a drink from her spot behind the counter Hikaru and his brother was sitting at, watching Haruhi speak to the boy. Hikaru commented bitterly after Akiko's question of them being past friends, "They've had zero contact since middle school, so in my opinion they're not friends; they're just former classmates."

The black-haired beauty frowned at him and said, "Just because you don't keep in contact with someone doesn't mean you quiet being friends." Hikaru scoffed at her comment and turned his head away rudely, taking a sip of his drink from the straw. Kaoru blinked at Hikaru's behavior and stared at him for a moment, before mouthing a silent apology to Akiko who shrugged in response.

"So," Arai began, looking at Mitsukuni and Mori, Hikaru and Kaoru, and Tamaki who was pouting in a corner for being left out of the conversation, "these guys are all in a club with you?"

"A Host Club," Haruhi replied distastefully as she made a sour face.

"O-Oh, is that so?"

She sighed and nodded, "Yeah... unfortunately. There are also two other members; a girl named Alex and the manager of the club, who's name is Kyoya."

"What are they like?"

Before Haruhi could answer, Hikaru raised his empty glass in the air and said loudly, "Hey, Haruhi! Don't you think you should be _working? _You shouldn't be slacking off!"

She stared at him in exasperation, saying, "Misuzu said I could take a break!" Hikaru scowled and slammed his cup down on the table, turning his head childishly away from her direction. Akiko sighed and refilled his glass with lemonade, telling him to relax. Hikaru sent her a glare and grabbed the drink from her, drinking it angrily. Kaoru frowned worriedly at his brother, all traces of their previous argument gone and forgotten. Hikaru was dealing with his grief in the worst way possible it seemed. Kaoru should have known his brother wouldn't have been able to handle losing Alex, and now Hikaru's clinging to his friends as tightly as could-taking his anger out on unsuspecting victims in an attempt to keep the people he cared about taken away from him.

Haruhi and Arai are his current victims. He's scared that if Haruhi gets any closer to Arai, she'll leave Hikaru for him and they won't be friends anymore.

Arai finally decided to change the subject and asked, "Well, anyway, I still can't believe you're going to Ouran. It's such a prestigious school I thought it was a whole other world." Haruhi nodded and cast a glance at her clubmates, commenting,

"It's a different world alright." Arai smiled at her, a light pink coating his cheeks.

"...Well, to be honest, I was kinda worried about you being in a such an elite school by yourself, but I'm really glad to see you doing well." Haruhi looked surprised for a moment before smiling at him, causing his face to grow a darker red. He cleared his throat awkwardly and diverted his gaze, having trouble looking her in the eyes as he tried to fix what he said, thinking it was a little obvious, "Uh, I-I mean... It's not like I was the _only _one who was worried about you! Lots of people were!" He placed a hand on the back of his head nervously.

Hikaru narrowed his eyes. He couldn't stop himself as he said, "What's _with _him? He's trying to use the refreshing innocence approach. Someone should tell him we already _had _a Refreshment contest!"

Akiko frowned deeply at Hikaru, not liking his behavior. "What's wrong with you today? Why are you being so rude?"

The ginger raised his chin and rolled his eyes. "I'm just sayin' it's _obvious _this guy has a thing for Haruhi!" He raised his voice obnoxiously, making sure both Arai and Haruhi could hear him. Aria looked at Hikaru hurt, clearly disheartened. "It's sickening trying to watch this guy _flirt_." Akiko narrowed her storm cloud eyes in a glare, seeing how Arai looked down at the table as if he wished he could be anywhere but there in that moment.

Akiko was about to tell Hikaru off, but Haruhi beat her to it, that of which making Arai look up at the brunette in surprise.

"Hikaru! Quit acting like such a jerk!"

Arai quickly raised a hand, not wanting any fighting to break out. "It's fine, it's no big deal. Besides, he's right; I did have a thing for you once." Everyone froze, startled at how easily he admitted it. "But who cares? You already turned me down, right?" Akiko, having stolen Hikaru's drink out of annoyance of his behavior, choked on the lemonade. Her eyes went comically wide as she stared at the two teens. She exclaimed, looking at Haruhi who cried out in shock, "Why do you look surprised!? You're the one who turned him down!"

"I-I didn't know!" Tamaki quickly ran over and demanded an explanation of when and where it happened. Arai proceeded to explain how he wanted Haruhi to go out with him, but she mistook it as an invitation to go look at the applications with him. "Haruhi..." The poor girl soon found herself surrounded by Tamaki, Mitsukuni, Mori, and Akiko. "Why on earth did you break this poor man's heart? What cruel jokes were running through your head!?" Tamaki had tears streaming comically down his face. The thoughts that were running through his head were horrible-What if Tamaki himself proposed to her and she rejected _him_!?

"Um, no... I-I didn't... I thought..." Haruhi couldn't come up with a proper response.

Mitsukuni looked up at Takashi and said, "This crime's pretty serious, huh?" Mori nodded.

"Yeah."

Akiko hugged Haruhi, crying out, "Why Haruhi, why!? What did he ever _do _to you!?" After a few moments Haruhi stood up straight and turned around, facing Arai stiffly. He looked confused and cried out in shock when she bowed down and apologized to him.

"So you're rejecting me again one year later!?" He laughed and waved his hand, scratching his head nervously, "Don't worry about it, Fujioka! I'm over it already! You didn't realize what I meant and that meant you weren't interested. But you know..." He opened his eyes and looked at her dreamily, "I was always drawn to that faraway look in your eyes...and the way you would look someone in the eyes when you spoke to them. I liked that about you; I always thought you were special." Before he knew what happened Tamaki had pulled him out of his seat and grabbed his hands, sparkling.

"You think that much about my little girl!?" Arai looked slightly uncomfortable, "Don't worry, I'll never forget your gallantry!" Hikaru snatched his drink from where Akiko had left it and drank out of the straw irritably.

_Now they're all flocking over to that loser... _He thought and scowled.

* * *

"What are you even doing here, Fuyumi?" Kyoya asked as he closed the door to Alex's room behind him. He was reluctant to leave her but knew he couldn't be in there forever. His older sister smiled at him and placed a hand on his bicep, saying gently,

"I... heard that you were in Karuizawa visiting that girl you talked about on the phone with Tamaki and decided to meet her. I asked father, and I was ready to argue to go, but he just let me do what I wanted. It surprised me how lenient he was. Normally he'd tell me to go back home and be with my husband, but... he seemed to be worried about you."

Kyoya leaned his back against the door, pulling away from Fuyumi and crossing his arms. "Why is Father acting so strange all of a sudden?"

Fuyumi frowned and shook her head, smiling a little. "I'm not sure, Kyoya, but I think it's good that he's changing. He's finally showing love for his children-for _you_. You should be happy." She was surprised when he fixed her with a cold look.

"How am I supposed to be _happy _when Alex is inside there dying?"

"...Kyoya-" He didn't wait for her to finish, instead walking past her and down the hallway to the first floor, where the dining area is.

* * *

"They look like they're having fun, Hikaru," Kaoru tried to persuade his brother, "Why don't we go and join them?" Hikaru turned his head and closed his eyes, scoffing.

"No, I don't want too. I can't believe the boss is actually hanging out with that jerk." Kaoru stared at his brother, but turned his gaze to Tamaki when the blonde called them over.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, get over here! This might be our only chance to hear what Haruhi was like in Middle School!" Hikaru leaned back and groaned.

"Sorry, but I'm _not _interested." He moved back and leaned over the counter. He turned his head and gaze a cold look to Arai. "Man, how stupid can you guys get? Where's the fun in sitting around and talking about someone's past; I don't see the appeal. Besides," He continued, "Doesn't this guy realize that Haruhi doesn't want _anything _to do with him!?" He missed Haruhi standing up and making her way over to him, "She has plenty of friends, so she doesn't need _you _around. Get it-" He turned his head, finally registering the footsteps behind him and was abruptly cut off, his head now turned forcefully at an angle as the sound of skin hitting against skin echoed around the room.

A red mark blossomed on Hikaru's left cheek. The room was enveloped in silence. His caramel eyes were wide in shock, multiple emotions spreading through him at once.

"That's _not _something for you to decide, Hikaru!" Haruhi snapped, pissed with his behavior. "I know you're hurt and I know you're in pain over what's happening to your sister, but I'm _not _gonna _tolerate _you insulting my friends anymore! I'll be friends with whomever I wish and you don't have any control of that! Quit being such a jerk already!"

Everyone watched the scene unfold, and Kyoya paused from his spot at the bottom of the stairs.

Hikaru was shaking. Slowly he raised a hand to his face, resting it gently against the injury Haruhi gave him. "But why...?" He asked softly, voice trembling. "Why should anyone else even matter?" Haruhi blinked and looked at him in confusion. She then looked startled as Hikaru suddenly stood up and slammed a hand down on the bar table, screaming, "Why should anyone else matter to you when you have all of us!? We're your friends, aren't we!? So why the hell are trying to _leave _us for him!? We should be the only ones that matter to you!" Tears welled up in his eyes, and after a few seconds of a stand-off between the two Hikaru ran towards the stairs and past Kyoya.

Kaoru quickly chased after him, crying out his name.

Tamaki, watching them rush away, frowned and ruffled his hair as he hung his head. "Their world is still so small... and it's breaking before their very eyes..." Arai turned his head to look at him, Haruhi's eyes drifting to the blonde in confusion before her eyes softened in realization. "Everyone they care for... Hikaru isn't handling this very well at all."

Mitsukuni looked confused and questioned, "Handling what, Tama-Chan?" Tamaki turned his head and looked at Mitsukuni almost pityingly, with also a look of envy.

"That's right... you and Mori-Sempai don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" The Haninozuka heir asked.

Tamaki jumped a little when a hand rested on his shoulder and turned his head to face his friend. Kyoya said, face blank and voice completely monotone, "Alex is sick."

Arai, gathering he shouldn't be listening to this conversation, made his way over to the counter where Hikaru and Kaoru where sitting earlier and distracted himself with the scenery of the Inn.

Mitsukuni tilted his head, sensing there was more to this. "We know that, Kyo-Chan. What aren't you telling us though?" It was at times like these that everyone is reminded that Mitsukuni really is far more intelligent than he lets people believe. He knew before all of them that Alex was sick, he even knows something is fishy with her arm which before used to be hardly usable. What he wants to know is _how _sick she was and why she hasn't gotten better yet.

Haruhi looked pained at that question and Tamaki turned his head, running a hand through his bangs as he swallowed.

"Well," he began, trying to think of a way to break it to him. "She's... very sick, Honey-Sempai."

Mori, sensing where this was going, placed a hand on Mitsukuni's head. The honey blonde, finding the action odd and the kid-talk Tamaki was using suspicious. He caught the look in Tamaki and Haruhi's eyes, and saw how Kyoya was holding himself. His grip on his stuffed rabbit loosened a little.

"No... Lexi-Chan is..."

Tamaki finished painfully, "She's not going to get better, Honey-Sempai."

Mitsukuni's eyes went wide, almost in disbelief. His heart seemed to drop down into his stomach, a black hole taking the place of his heart in his chest. _Alex is... dying? _He didn't bother catching Usa-Chan as the rabbit fell to the floor. _No... No! _Mori was the one who had to hold him back. Mitsukuni quickly sent a kick to the shin before headbutting him in the chin, ridding Mori's hold of him. Mitsukuni quickly ran towards the stairs, dodging everyone's attempts to grab him. _Room One Twelve. Room One Twelve. _Alex wasn't dying.

Shadows covered his childish face, darkness taking place of what once was a cheery boy. He found the room he was looking for and came to an abrupt stop, quickly opening the door. He didn't bother asking Fuyumi what she was going in the room and merely fixated his gaze on the brunette who appeared to be barely breathing. The darkness in his eyes vanished and instead was replaced with tears, which fell like waterfalls down his cheeks. "L-Lexi-Chan~!" He cried, rushing forward and hugging her around the waist as tight as he could without hurting her or making her condition even worse. He started _bawling_ as he clung to her.

"Oh..." Fuyumi gasped, surprised at the action and his sudden appearance, only to look at the doorway where the rest of the Host Club (not counting the twins) were standing looking solemnly into the room. Takashi made his way over to the blonde and got down on his knees, rubbing a hand in circles on Mitsukuni's back as the blonde cried.

_"I planned to say all these terrible things to you, but in the end, I just want to tell you I miss you."_

**Honestly, I think the ones who cared about Alex the most are Kyoya(Best friend/boyfriend) Hikaru and Kaoru (brothers) Mitsukuni ("Little Brother" figure and second best friend) and Akiko. Really sorry for the late chapter, but I seem to procrastinate when I get near the ends of stories. XD At least it's not as late as the one my FMAB fanfic is, so there's that at least. **

**Arai popped up, Fuyumi gave her baby bro a visit, the last of the Hosts found out the horrible end, and Hikaru is having a B.F because of his grief. Kyoya's penting up rage, Hikaru's venting it, and Tamaki's just despairing over the whole thing. **

**The reason why I have Mitsukuni flipping out is because although he's an eight-year-old in a child's body, it was ONCE mentioned how when in Renge's story shoot thing in the episode she first appeared in Mitsukuni's act may have NOT just been an act. Not to mention that he also has a dark side-such as when you wake him up, the "Green berets", and when he took out all those guards in the pool act and in the original anime episodes with Eclair and how his face darkened. Also when Usa-Chan had tea spilled on him. **

**He too has a bit of dark side and I kinda wanted to bring that out. Mitsukuni knew Alex was sick, he didn't know how badly though but figured it was the flu or something since it was taking so long for her to get better, and was in shock and disbelief when it was said that she wasn't going to get better he flipped. He raged, knocked back Mori after the giant tried to hold him down, and went ninja down the hallways. THEN he broke down. **

**Well, that's my reason as best as I can explain. I'm very bad explaining things. I try though. XD **

**Well, read and review. Please don't kill me. I luvvles you guys! No idea how many chapters are left. Probably quite a few. **


	29. Beauty is Overrated: P2

_"Darker times can draw people closer..."_

**December 17, 2014**

After Mitsukuni had finally stopped crying, Tamaki had managed to get the group downstairs to say their goodbyes to Arai. Standing outside in front of the Pension's entrance, Haruhi apologized for Hikaru's rude behavior.

Arai merely smiled at her and exclaimed, sitting halfway on his delivery bike, "It's alright. I don't know what I did, but it sure seemed to set him off, huh?" Suddenly hearing the door's bells ring, Mitsukuni turned in head in confusion and blinked, stunned to see Hikaru making his way over to them with a sheepish look on his face. Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck as he walked.

"Hika-Chan..." He said quietly, but loud enough to alert everyone of his presence. Blinking twice, Hikaru slowly lifted his head and stared at Arai for a moment.

After he appeared to gather his courage, he said, "I'm sorry for the way I acted... I've just been going through some hard times lately, but that didn't mean I should have taken my anger out on. Forgive me." Arai looked startled for a moment before he suddenly smiled and shook his head.

"Nah, it's fine. Don't worry about it, man. Everyone has bad days, I completely understand. Well, I gotta get going now. See ya soon, Fujioka." Haruhi smiled at him and waved, everyone watching as Arai rode away on his bike. Still smiling and waving as he rode away, Akiko-who had been hiding in the backdrop until now-turned to Hikaru and asked,

"Where's your brother?"

Hikaru turned and smiled at Akiko. He said, "Kaoru's checking on Alex for me right now, so-"

"That's not what I meant." She said bluntly, causing Hikaru to blink in surprise and stare at her with a look of utter confusion. "I'm asking where _Hikaru _is. You're clearly standing right in front of me."

Hikaru was about to protest that he _wasn't _Kaoru, when Haruhi suddenly reached up and pinched his cheek. "Ow-what are you doing!?"

"Akiko's right; why are you dressed as Hikaru?"

Everyone else froze, before turning their gazes to Kaoru curiously. The ginger laughed lightly, rubbing the sore spot on his cheek from where Haruhi had grabbed him. "Hikaru's temper isn't going to let up anytime soon," He explained with a sad smile, standing up straight. "He can also be pretty stubborn, so he doesn't really like admitting defeat or apologizing. That's part of the reason why I came outside to apologize for him."

Akiko raised an eyebrow, noticing how he worded it. "Part of the reason?"

Kaoru nodded, turning to her with another friendly smile. Kaoru had no idea at all as to how Akiko could tell he and his brother apart, but maybe... maybe it was just another thing passed on from knowing Alex. The one who knew them best. Or maybe she was just very perceptive. Kaoru could feel the aching pain in his chest at those thoughts, but he quickly shook them off and instead leaned over so he could stare into Akiko's eyes, the girl leaning her head back with light pink across her cheeks. She appeared a little intimidated.

Managing to keep her voice steady, she asked, "What's the other half?"

"The other half Akiko, is that I came down here to ask you something." There was a short silence for dramatic effect. Kaoru reached over and grabbed Akiko's hands, causing her face to become a shade darker as he grinned, "Are you free tomorrow?" Akiko's eyes widened. "Because I want you to go out on a date with me. You up for it?"

"Wh-Why," She started to say, stuttering in shock before she finally managed to control herself, "Why do you want _me_ to go out on a date with _you_?"

Even Haruhi looked surprised. Kyoya pushed up his glasses and, grabbing the arm of a fuming Tamaki he pulled him back into the pension despite his protests. Mori calmly leaned down and picked up Mitsukuni, holding him very much like how a mother would to their three-year-old child.

Kaoru's grin seemed to widen just a little. He knew that with what was happening to his sister, going on a date would probably be the least appropriate thing, but... it could help _him_ just a little bit and maybe, just maybe, they could become better friends with Akiko and repay her for what she did for him. And after a lot of thought... after very _very _much thought, and a little discussion with the person herself, Alex wouldn't want him and Hikaru to mope about. Now, the big question is if the rest of the club will realize this themselves? Hikaru doesn't even realize this, but maybe after this he just might...

"Well," He began, "There are times where our conversations are a bit rocky and I know that you and Hikaru don't get along that well, but you're a really nice girl. You're also my little sister's best friend and... I want to get to know you better. I know the timing is a little inappropriate," Akiko couldn't help but nod her head in agreement, but she wasn't able ignore the fact that her heart was pounding in her chest at what he was saying about her. "But I don't think Alex would want us to fret and be so depressed about her condition. She's always smiling for us, even though she's in so much pain... so, if you won't go on a date for _me_, at least do it for her? Do it for my little sister?"

Akiko bit the inside of her cheek, almost yelling at the last remaining members in her head for going into the pension, but the look in Kaoru's eyes... as he spoke, they became moist-as if he were holding back tears. She realized he had a point... Alex _wouldn't _want them to get depressed about her condition. She probably just wants them to be happy and to act like nothing is happening to her. The selfless fool... talk about an idiot...

"F-Fine but... only if you stop making that face." She removed her gaze from him, trying to ignore how warm his hands were. Her eyes widened when she realized what she said and she cried out, looking at him in alarm, "I-I didn't mean it in that way, I-I could care less if you look upset! I still hate you and your brother, s-so don't get any of the wrong ideas! I'm-I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing this for Alex!"

Kaoru looked surprised for a moment, having no expected her flustered reaction or her cherry red face, but he soon smiled so _tenderly _at her...

_I-I think my heart just died a little... _God, what was going on with her? Why did Kaoru have to be a nice guy? Freaking-why couldn't he be a jerk like his brother; if he was anything like Hikaru then her life would be _so _much easier! _I hate twins... _She held back a sigh as Kaoru released her hands, crossing her arms and walking back nervously into the pension, feeling a bit like she was walking on air. _Alex... poor Alex... I wish I was as strong as you. How do you put up with all this? How do you not cry? _Why is she still able to smile at them when she sees them while she's awake? Why does she do that even though she's obviously in so much pain...

She was so different compared to the girl she used to be when they first met. She's more... _motherly _now. She appeared to have gone from a child who wanted nothing but to be entertained, to this... mature teen who tries to look after everyone, who does her best to stay strong for them and not to worry. The look in her eyes were always that of a tortured soul, but her eyes held hope... held love for everyone she met. Akiko wished she could be like her.

* * *

**December 18, 2014 **

"K-Kaoru! Kaoru don't do this! Don't-Don't you get sick too!" Hikaru hovered over his brother, staring at him with terrified eyes. Tears were dropping from his cheeks, splashing against Kaoru's face. "C-Come on, don't you dare leave me!"

"I-I'm fine, Hikaru..." Kaoru coughed, looking rather pale. He felt incredibly guilty for what he was doing-no, not even that. He felt like a cruel _bastard_ for doing this to his brother. He knew how torn he was about Alex, but... this was the only way he could get him to go in his place. "It's-It's just a little cold, see?" There was sweat beating down his face; his skin was slightly damp. He coughed again.

"E-Even if it's just a small cold, it-it could get worse and-" Kaoru cut his brother off by placing a hand on his arm, the younger twin rolling onto his back with the blankets covering most of his face. "Kaoru...?"

"I... need you to do me a favor. I-Yesterday I asked Akiko on a day and... I need you to go in my place." Kaoru coughed again, Hikaru's emotions completely conflicted. He was beginning to break down. "I-I can't just leave her there, you know?"

"Y-You want me to go out with that silver-eyed demon!? I-I need to look after you and Alex; I can't waste my time-"

"W-We'll be here when you get back, Hikaru... I'll probably be better by then. I just need some rest." Kaoru let out a small groan, causing Hikaru to reach a hand down and brush the bangs out of Kaoru's face, feeling his temperature. He was really warm. "B-Besides, if you think about it... we have Kyoya-Sempai and his sister watching after her for us... so there's nothing to worry about. They're from a family of doctors after all."

"I-I know that, but don't forget how useless the doctors in the hospitals were-"

"I know, Hikaru... but I really need you to do this for me. I-I really like Akiko, see?" Hikaru's eyes widened. "I really wanted to show her a good time but... I-I can't now. The timing of this is terrible but... please, go in my place, Hikaru." Kaoru removed the blanket from his face and shivered, before reaching up and cupping Hikaru's face with his hand. "Be nice to her, just this once... please?"

_I don't get it... _Hikaru just didn't understand. Why does his brother want him to leave his side when he might end up badly sick as well? Why doesn't anyone care!? She's-His sister's _dying _and no one but him and Kyoya seem to care! _What's does he like about her? Sure, she's kinda nice I guess since she saved him from that pot... _Guilt hit him like a ton of bricks and he winced, before placing a hand over his brother's, which was still on his face. "What do you like about her? She's just... another girl. She's not Haruhi or..."

Kaoru tried for a smile. He said weakly, "I know you two don't get along well, but... she's a good person. You'll understand once you spend time with her. ...You felt it that day too, right? How... How she was breaking into our world?" Hikaru bit the inside of his cheek, balling his free hand into a fist. "It'll be good for you... just don't ruin my chances, okay? Show her a good time or I'll never forgive you. If you hurt her feelings and I find out you made her cry..."

Hikaru could sense the looming threat. Stress lines formed down his face and he swallowed, "Y-Yeah, alright. I got it."

"Are you sure?"

"W-What? You think I can't do it?"

"Well... you've never really gone out with anyone before," Kaoru responded with a small smile, hiding his face underneath the blankets so his brother couldn't see his grin. "But remember Hikaru... you have to tell other people you feel, otherwise... they'll never know. And remember...whenever you care about someone, it's important to pay attention to any subtle hints they drop." Hikaru was confused at his brother's words, not understanding why he was telling him this.

Kaoru was the one who liked Akiko, not him. Did he just want him to inform him on stuff the silver-eyed demon liked or something?

* * *

"Why are you here and where's Kaoru?" Hikaru almost recoiled at the blatant rejection of his presence and scowled at Akiko in annoyance, not liking her attitude with him.

"He got sick so he asked me to come in his stead. You got a problem with that?" Akiko made a face at him and slumped her shoulder, disappointed. She rather liked Kaoru, he made good company. He also had a rather calm and more serious head compared to his brother, who was a world-renowned hothead. She wondered if he was alright. So in an attempt to annoy Hikaru for his rude way of asking, she said,

"No, just bugged 'cause I got dressed up for nothing." Hikaru was about to make a retort when he finally realized what the girl was wearing. His eyes widened in surprise.

Akiko was actually wearing something really simple. A plain black dress with a slight poofy skirt, the top covered by a red cardigan. She wore a pair of red Mary Janes. Her dark hair was braided over her left shoulder, a few strands framing her face. Her bangs were parted. Akiko's eyes looked more silver than usual, almost like that of the moon.

She didn't look bad, she actually looked really pretty-Hikaru just found it _really weird _that she was dressed up. "Aren't you supposed to be the daughter of a cosmetics company? Why are you dressed like that?" Her eyebrow twitched in response.

"Okay, _Hikaru_; news flash, I'm adopted." She then pointed a finger at him, shaking her head at him sassily as she said, "Which means that I'm not some spoiled little rich brat who likes to flaunt her stuff and how much money she's got in her wallet. You hear me? I quite like wearing things like this; simple, yet cute. And I've been wanting to try out these pair of shoes since I bought them a few days back but I haven't had a reason to, so I thought I'd try them out now since they matched my outfit. You got a problem with that?"

Hikaru raised his hands in defense as he glared at her in irritation. "I was just _asking_, Miss Medea! You don't have go and _snap _at me like that!"

"Then don't ask me so rudely! And why'd you bring up my family anyway!? Just because I'm not wearing make-up doesn't mean you have a right to make fun of my foster family!"

"I wasn't making fun of anything you jerk!" Lightning crackled between them, and from behind a telephone pole Kaoru sighed, sweatdropping exasperatedly.

_They can't get along even once, _Kaoru thought in despair. _And... _His gaze trailed to Akiko, causing him to frown in slight envy. _She looks so cute! I can't believe he said that to her. Hikaru... _As much as he loved his brother, sometimes he just wanted to smack him, but it was good thing Kaoru has a lot a patience. He wasn't lying however when he told his brother he liked the girl-sure she was a little temperamental at times and a bit bi-polar, but weren't all women?

Following them as they walked away, the two teens bickering back-and-forth like an old married couple, Kaoru hid behind a wall and watched them speak to each other as they stood in the middle of the marketplace, looking at the town map.

"I don't know where to go!" Hikaru snapped, before wincing a little. Kaoru frowned, hoping his brother remembered his words. "I-I mean... where do _you _want to go?" Akiko narrowed her eyes at him and Hikaru steadily kept her gaze. The girl sighed after a few moments and tore her eyes away, instead looking at the map.

"I have no idea... Kaoru said he'd have this all planned out so-hey, what's that?" She pointed at a place on the map. Hikaru looked to where she was pointing and blinked.

"Looks like some kind of fair or festival is goin' on." He then looked at Akiko curiously, malice no longer in his gaze. He actually looked a little interested now. He asked, "You wanna go there?"

Akiko smiled and nodded, "Yeah. Haruhi told me about the town fairs she went to when she was little, so I always wanted to go to one. I never really had much of a chance before." Hikaru quirked an eyebrow.

"So you've never been to an Amusement Park?" He looked amused and slightly disbelieving. "How lame are you?" Her smile turned down into a deep frown and she scowled at him, telling him to shut up before grabbing his arm and dragging him along with her, using the map for instructions. "Hey, slow down! You're gonna rip off my arm-"

"You're a big boy, you can handle it! At least _Kaoru _wouldn't insult me!" She let out a "Hmph" and turned her head away, annoyed at his behavior. _Damn idiot... I was so looking forward to spending the day with Kaoru. _"Jerk," She muttered under her breath. _I hope Kaoru's alright... I don't want him to end up like Alex._

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" She faked a smile and paused, having finally arrived at their destination. Hikaru stopped behind her and stood up straight, barely managing to stop himself from bumping into her as she had quit running so abruptly. He blinked and looked on thoughtfully, saying,

"Huh. Guess they're packing up. It's no surprise seeing how it's December and all..." Akiko loosened her grip on his arm and looked back at the map, heart dropping in her stomach as she finally saw the words-written in very small letters- _closed for the season._

Trying to hide her disappointment she forced a smile and turned to look at Hikaru, folding up the map in her hands neatly as she could. He looked down at her, noticing how her shoulders were slumped instead of being held confidently like they were before. He noticed how fake her expression was. "Well, seeing as that isn't going to work, any suggestions?"

He raised a hand up and rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. "...Not at the top of my head. I wasn't expecting to come out today so I didn't plan anything." Her smile faltered a little and she looked at the ground for a moment.

"R-Right... Well, are you hungry? We can... we can go and get something to eat if you want. Misuzu suggested a few places that had good service and food; we can go eat at one of them?"

He raised an eyebrow at her suggestion. He almost scoffed at the idea of eating low-grade food, before pausing and remembering the chips Alex had been eating one day while watching a really sad anime. He and Kaoru had stole them while she was in the midst of sobbing at a sad scene and tried them and they were actually surprisingly good. His chest ached painfully at the memory, but he sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, asking, "Like what?"

She gave him a look. "Well, what are you in the mood for?"

"How should I know?"

"You're not being very helpful!"

"Neither are you!"

More electricity. Blue and yellow auras clashed together in a fight for dominance, neither wanting to give in due to their stubbornness and pride.

Hikaru growled at her, "It's a wonder why you're even adopted; I doubt even a hobo would want to pick you up off the street!" Akiko almost winced at her words, but she held her ground.

"At least _I _know there a people _way _nicer than you; I'm so glad I get so spend time with you, because I'm reminded of what a jerk you really are!"

"What did you just say, Urushihara!?"

"You heard me!"

"I hope you get lost one of these days, because then some perverted geezer will attack you!"

"Says you! There are plenty of perverted geezers who would want to ravage a pretty-boy like you! And for your information, I'm good with directions so my getting lost is practically impossible!"

Kaoru sunk to the ground, planking at the scene before him. _They were getting along so well for a second, dang it! They were finally getting somewhere! _He groaned and sighed, pushing himself up. Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye and he turned his head in confusion, seeing a man with brown and dark eyes peeking out from a store corner. He followed the man's gaze and was stunned to realize that he was staring straight at Hikaru and Akiko. His eyes widened and Kaoru turned to look back at the man, only to see he was gone.

And when he looked back, his brother and his date where missing as well.

* * *

"Hey, so what restaurant are we going too?" Hikaru asked as they walked, the ginger turning his head to look at his companion only to stop walking and look around frantically. A sudden sense of panic took over him, worry building up quickly inside of him as he tried to locate the girl. "Akiko?" He took a step back, wondering if he accidentally left her behind. His hands started to shake, his breathing starting to get a little shallow. "A-Akiko?"

_N-No... No, no, no... _

"Akiko!" He shouted, running back the way they came as he looked around for her. _Where is she? She-She's gone-She's leaving me! She-She's leaving just like Alex! _"Akiko!" Where could she have gone? N-Nothing bad happened to her, right? _Right? _His eyes started to sting, sweat forming on his hands and forehead nervously. Hikaru was terrified.

Everyone was leaving him. Everyone he cares about is being taken from him. He was just joking when he said he wanted her to get lost; he didn't really want her to get taken away by some dirty old pervert. She was gone...

"_AKIKO!_" He screamed, balling his hands into fists and squeezing his eyes shut. It was as if walls were enclosing around him, suffocating him.

"Hey, what are you doing screaming like that stupid!?" A hand on his arm caused him to jolt and whirl around in alarm, eyes wide and scared. Akiko looked up at him in annoyance, "Don't go shouting my name like that; you'll draw unnecessary attention-!" She went completely still when Hikaru suddenly grabbed her and pulled her to him, the teen holding her close. His grip on her was tight, making sure she couldn't escape. "H-Hey, Hikaru-?" She cut herself off, realizing he was trembling. She awkwardly raised her arms and patted him lightly on the back, hoping that it came across comforting. "What's the matter?"

"Don't you go _vanishing _on me like that!" He snapped, voice wavering a little. "It's not... It's not safe..."

Oh.

_Oh._

Oh...

She understood now. At least, she understood part of what was going on. Akiko swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in her throat as her eyes watered, and she lightly squeezed him to return the hug. "Hey... I'm here, Hikaru. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not hurt." He was breaking. Hikaru was breaking from what was happening to Alex. And knowing how he and Kaoru used to be in Middle School, so detached from the world and all its inhabitants except for themselves, she could only imagine how painful it must be to be losing someone who was so close to them... "It's alright."

His grip tightened and she flinched. He was hurting her.

"H-Hikaru... it hurts. Not so tight." Hikaru suddenly tensed and pulled back as if he were on fire, seeming to have realized what he had done. Rubbing the lowerpart of her back she gave him a worried look, asking, "You feel any better?" To her surprise though Hikaru merely looked at her like a deer-caught-in-the-headlights, as if unable to believe what he had just done. She furrowed her eyebrows and stood up straight. "Hikaru?"

"You..." He wasn't able to say anything else. He just ran off, leaving Akiko alone by herself in the middle of town. She stood there for a moment, stunned, before attempting to follow after him. However her attempts to find the Hitachiin was useless as they got separated even further because of the crowd. She looked around for a bit, determined to find him, when she saw something at a store window that caught her eye.

_When I find him there's no doubt that he's going to be hungry, so maybe it's not a bad idea to buy some. _She tried to remember if Hikaru liked spicy food or not. Ordering a few boxes of it to-go she carried the Italian pasta in a bag. _Kaoru and Alex might appreciate some too... _"Now, just to find the bastard." She had no idea where he could have gone. Deciding to just go in the direction he vanished in, she made her way down the street, cursing in her head when it started to pour. She quickly tied the bag so no water could leak in and squinted, trying to make out a redhead _anywhere_.

"Hey, girlie, you just gonna walk out there in the rain or are you gonna come in?" Akiko paused and turned her head at the voice, seeing a man in his thirties waving at her from a store entrance. Running over she entered the store, warmth hitting her face and causing goosebumps. She shivered and shook her head, feeling the rain drops trickle down her face, her hair clinging to her skin. "What were you doin' just walkin' out there like that?"

Akiko responded, "I'm looking for someone. He's about this tall," She held her hand up above her head to demonstrate his height, "with red hair. He has a pair of earphones around his neck. Have you seen him? We got separated." The man raised a hand to his bearded chin, scratching it thoughtfully.

"Hm... I get a lot of customers missy, but I don't recall ever seein' anyone like that-Wait! Actually I saw a man with red hair runnin' just down yonder with a frightened look on 'im's face. He yer boyfriend?"

"No..." What was Hikaru to her? Definitely not boyfriend and not an acquaintance either. "I guess you could call me a family friend." That much was true. Akiko quickly bowed to him, thanking him. "Thank you for your help! I'll be going now!"

"Wait, don't you at least want," The door closed behind her and he watched her run out in the rain, "an umbrella..."

* * *

Alex remembered. She remembered this part in time. This was "Operation: Haruhi and Hikaru's First Date" and yet... Haruhi was still here. Why was she still here?

The girl flinched, clinging onto the stair railing tightly as her legs threatened to give out on her. She coughed harshly, blood and saliva dripping off from the corner of her mouth down onto her chin, drops of liquid falling onto her shirt. Leaning over the rail with an aching back and chest, she wiped the mess away and tried to catch her breath. _Almost... have to warn them. Have to save Akiko... _He was out there. She knows he is. He hasn't left her alone yet.

_"Pitiful. It appears our time together is coming to an end, my little "Defender"." _Truth. She wasn't in the mood to deal with him, but if he was contacting her now... _"Indeed. Your time is almost up. Best say your goodbyes while you still can." _She'll only do that when she's on her deathbed. Right now Alex has something to deal with. She cringed as her clothes stuck to her skin, cold sweats trailing down her back and all over her body. It was disgusting.

"H-Hikaru..." She wheezed, halfway down the stairs. She needed to get to the main hall... the lobby. "Akiko..." _I'm coming_.

_"...but they can also draw people apart." _


	30. Beauty is Overrated: P3

_"Don't wait until it's too late to tell someone how much you love, how much you care..._

_because no matter how loud you shout and cry... _

_they won't hear you anymore._

"Are you certain that's who it was?" Misuzu nodded with a serious look on his face, "Hm... she was looking for a boy with red hair you say?" Kaoru looked up in alarm, fearing the worst. Tamaki stopped pacing and stared at Misuzu, worry on his face. "I see... Thank you. Hikaru should have his cell with him, so I'll try giving him a call." He hung up the phone and looked at the worried Host Club, explaining, "Evidently Hikaru left Akiko somewhere near the produce shop Arai works at. His dad found her wandering about in the rain looking for Hikaru and recognized her."

Suddenly a loud thud from the back of the room drew everyone's attention away. They looked to the source of the sound, Kyoya being the first to react.

"Alex!" As he shouted her name he ran towards her, everyone else crying out in shock and saying her name before following Kyoya's actions and rushing over to help her. She coughed harshly, skin so pale she was almost blue, pushing herself up only to collapse against Kyoya's form as he helped her sit up. Her head rested against his shoulder as she breathed heavily. "What in the _hell _are you think you damn moron!?"

She grinned weakly at him, her eyes wet and moist. "I... have to talk to... Hikaru." Tamaki's face contorted into that of conflicted emotions-angry and worried and upset all at once. Kyoya just looked angry, but his eyes burned with emotions. "P-Phone..." Wheezing, she shifted and started to pat Kyoya down, trying to find his phone. "Where's..." He ground his teeth together angrily and said,

"It's broken." A pained look crossed her face. It was clear she knew the reason why.

Kaoru knelt down beside her and held out his own, already dialing the number. "Here... you can use mine. I need to give Hikaru a scolding too."

She nodded and tried for another smiling, wrapping her fingers around the phone loosely as she held it up to her ear. Kyoya held her in place, making sure she didn't fall. There was a clash of thunder and a scream, and Tamaki quickly rushed over to comfort Haruhi who was trembling in fear. Mitsukuni had let her hold Usa-Chan for a bit of comfort, but it seemed that it wasn't doing much good. Misuzu, Fuyumi, and Mori had no idea at all what to do.

_"Kaoru, are you feeling alright!? You're not worse are you!?" _

Alex almost couldn't respond. It hurt to breathe. It hurt even more to speak.

_"K-Kaoru!? Kaoru, what's wrong?" _

Swallowing thickly, her throat painfully sore, she said, "Hikaru..." He went completely silent, the male having inhaled sharply. "Go... go after Akiko. There-There's this man... he-he keeps..." She coughed for a good long moment, the girl covering her mouth with her free hand. She could feel the sticky red liquid attach itself to her skin. Her vision blurred. "He... he won't leave her alone... she's so scared... She gets so scared when she sees him. H-He won't-He stalks her, Hikaru, and-and I know he's out there! It-It's dark and r-raining and she's out there still l-looking for you by herself! Wh-What if-" Acid seemed to bubble up her throat and keeping her hand firmly over her mouth, she tried to swallow the liquids back down. Darkness danced in her sight, the girl feeling incredibly lightheaded. "What if he gets her...? She-She's still a girl!" She, at a random moment, remembered a similar situation from an anime she had watched back when she could still laugh... _Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge_. Alex would still be Alex, no matter the situation it seemed, but...

Akiko... she wasn't safe. The bad feeling in Alex's gut twisted even more.

That man would stop at nothing to get what he wanted from her. Back before when she was adopted they had known each other. He had appeared to help Akiko, appeared to be a nice guy, but if the man who is now her father hadn't been walking by then... she most definitely wouldn't be the same girl she is today.

"Go and _find _her!" She hung up, and turned her head in an attempt to locate Kaoru, but all she saw was blurred images and darkness. "Where..." She wavered, her head pounding as though someone was thrashing her head against a brick wall repeatedly. She couldn't keep her eyes open.

"Alex? Alex? Alex!"

Haruhi let out another scream as thunder rolled around outside the building, muffling the sound of a cellphone hitting the floor, accompanied by that of a limp and pale hand.

* * *

The phone in Hikaru's hand felt like an anchor weight. He couldn't move. It was though his feet were glued the ground, like the male was no more than statue. _If he... gets her? _His brain barely registered anything Alex had just told him. Alex... she sounded so sick... so in pain... He started to tremble. He bit his bottom lip and looked up through the darkness, feeling the rain pelt against his face. His eyes stung from tears and the cold, and as he pocket his phone slowly he made the decision.

He ran. He ran as fast as he possibly could through the storm, stopping by at every passerby he encountered and demanding if they've seen his companion. His friend.

She didn't care what he thought of her and he didn't care what she said to him. He was stubborn, she was prideful, and the two of them argued a lot. They were so much alike that they repelled each other and yet...

He had been so scared when he lost sight of her. She was breaking through that last lock... and although he tried to protect it, keep it strong and sturdy, it seemed to rust and weaken. She kept picking and picking with that hairclip, refusing to let it stay on the gate. Despite everything he did, how much he tried to push her away from him and his brother, she broke through.

The lock had come undone. The lock that protected the gate around his heart... _Damn it, where is she!? _"Akiko!" He called loudly, stopping to catch his breath for a second as he leaned over with his hands on his knees. Still no sight of her.

"Hey, you! With the red hair!" Hikaru panted and swallowed, standing up and turning his head in the direction of the voice. A man was standing at the entrance of a Produce store, waving at him with the door open. "Yeah! Did ya get separated from some girl in a red cardigan!? She was lookin' for a man with yer description!"

Hikaru looked at the man hopefully, dashing over to speak to him. He stopped in front of him, breathing heavily. "Y-You've seen Akiko?"

"Pretty girl with black hair? Sure have, son. Was dashing 'bout in the rain lookin' all over for ya. Sent 'er that way." He pointed in the direction he directed the girl, and for the second time that day received a bow and thanks. The man scratched his head, not knowing what he was going to do with the young people nowadays if they kept getting separated while looking for another. _Young love... I'll never understand youngsters. _He barely understood why his son was still infatuated with a girl he met in Middle School.

* * *

"Alex-_Alex!_" Kyoya called, hovering over her with a hand beside her head on the couch she was resting on. _Don't you dare... _Not yet. He wasn't able to accept it yet. _I never even asked... _"Don't you dare die on me!"

After she went limp and fainted, Kyoya picked her up bridal-style and let Misuzu showed him a couch he could set Alex down on. She didn't even make a noise as he had shifted her so she could be more comfortable. She was so cold...

"Alex!" She couldn't go to sleep. If she did, then she might just... "Alex, come on!"

"Sempai, I don't think-" Kaoru began, eyes red from his crying, "I don't think she's..." She can't be. She can't be dead. "Sh-She's not breathing..." He was shaking. Kaoru swallowed thickly and placed a hand on Kyoya's shoulder, only to have the man slap his hand away.

"Don't touch me!" She was alive. She was still perfectly alive. Kyoya cupped her right cheek with his hand and caressed it gently with his thumb, muttering softly, "Come on, Alex... wake up. Wake up!" No... "I didn't tell you yet... I didn't say anything. Alex, you moron, _wake up!_" Water droplets splashed across Alex's face and it was only then Kyoya realized he was crying. His lips curled back and he clenched his free fist, "I said to wake up..." He whispered, but as he stared at her lifeless face, he just seemed to stop. The world seemed to stop. It... it was as if he couldn't feel anything. Alex... she couldn't be. It was impossible.

She can't be dead...

"L-Lexi-Chan..." Mitsukuni whimpered, staring with horrified eyes. Mori knelt beside his cousin and wrapped his arms around him, holding him tightly to comfort not only him, but himself. Haruhi had stopped screaming, instead staring at the ground in front of her with eyes more terrified than Tamaki had ever seen before. His hold on her tightened and he held her close, casting a quick glance at Alex before burying his face in Haruhi's hair and kissing the top of her head. Tears were streaming down their faces. Even stoic Mori looked about to cry.

Kaoru had longed but fallen to his knees next to Kyoya, holding his sister's hand and squeezing it tightly, trying his best not to cry but it being almost too difficult to hold back the sob. "Alex..." How was he going to break it to Hikaru? He had promised... he had said she'd be alright as long as Kyoya and Fuyumi were watching after her and yet...

Speaking of the oldest Ootori, the woman was in the background next to Misuzu, hands covering her mouth in horror and sorrow.

_I said I'd never let you be taken from me... I said you had another chance to live. _He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head, lifting her body up and embracing her tightly. All he could feel at this moment was anger, brought on by his grief. "Why...?" He muttered quietly, before screaming in demand, "WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME OUT TO BE A LIAR!?"

That was when he felt her jolt. That was when he _heard _it.

It was faint. Very, _very _faint... but it was there. "She's still alive..." Kaoru froze, being the only one to hear him. He slowly lifted his head and stared at Kyoya with huge eyes, not sure if he heard him correctly. Kyoya shot his head up, releasing his grip on her and setting her back down gently, and glared in his sister's direction, shouting, "Quickly, call an ambulance! Her heart's still beating!"

"No..." Everyone turned to Tamaki, who had spoken softly. "Do you want her to be in more pain? Can't you see how much she's hurting?" It went silent when they realized he was right. "She's in so much pain and yet... " Thunder crackled in the distance. Haruhi wasn't even able to scream. She just felt numb. Tamaki held her gently in her arms and lifted his head, locking his eyes with Kyoya. "She just wanted to help. She wouldn't want us to mourn her."

"You don't..."

"Maybe I don't, but you _do_, Kyoya."

You could hear Mitsukuni sobbing in the background, clinging tightly to Takashi. "Alex! Why does she have to go?" No one knew the answer to that. However no one had the time to ponder that question when Alex suddenly started screaming, thrashing about as if having a seizure. But the thing that was the most peculiar, was how it appeared she was trying to fight against someone-to push them off of her. Kyoya and Kaoru both backed up, alarmed.

* * *

"I said I'd come back, didn't?" He asked, grinning at Akiko as he held her pinned against atree. His dark eyes flashed coldly and the girl glared at him, refusing to give in. "I wouldn't have to be so brash if you just agreed to marry me. It's just simple math, Akiko! You, me, marriage- it equals happy life! I mean, who else is willing to marry some girl who was plucked off the streets? If you weren't so pretty you wouldn't have been saved at all!"

She spat in his face, causing Touma to reach a hand up wipe it away off of his face with a sleeve disgustedly. "You're lucky he didn't call the police when he saw what you were trying to do, otherwise you'd be locked up by now!"

"Ah-Ah-Ah, is that the way to treat the man who gave you food when you were wandering around starving?"

"You tricked me!"

He shrugged shamelessly with a smile, "Maybe. But I did give you food. You still didn't let me collect that favor from you."

"Some favor you bastard! Rape isn't exactly a _favor! _I was thirteen and you tried to-"

He grabbed a fistful of her hair roughly, causing her to wince as she glared into his eyes.

It was still pouring.

"That's what you get for trusting strangers so easily! How dumb a bitch are you!?" Pissed off, and finally seeing that he was close enough to her, she raised a leg and hit his "precious", causing him to cry out and release her, stumbling back and falling to his knees.

"Ha! Take that, bastard!" She glared darkly and scowled at him, watching him writhe on the ground before making a break for it. She ran faster than she did when she was trying to get away from angry store employees when she shoplifted for food when she was younger. Suddenly her foot caught a tree root, sending her flying forward as her foot twisted painfully. She screamed as she fell, and grunted as she hit the ground. Akiko tried to push herself up, only to freeze and let out a small scream when pain flared in her ankle. _No! This can't be happening! _

She felt herself panicking. If he caught up-No. She didn't want to think about it. Ignoring the intense pain in her foot and ankle, she got to her knees and twisted her body, tugging at the root as she tried to get herself loose. "C-Come on, get off! No! No, no, no, no-" She glanced nervously at the direction she came from, fear starting to spread and course through her veins. "Get off!" The root finally detached itself from the ground and her foot was free. She was breathing heavily. _I-I have to-safety. Safety. Need to get safe. _She then remembered. _Hikaru! I still need to find Hikaru! _

But she had no idea where he was. She didn't even know where _she _was.

"I got you, you rotten-!" She screamed, Touma tackling her from behind and pushing her onto her front on the ground. "I'll make you pay for that!" He tugged at her cardigan, attempting to rip it off. She thrashed, but her twisted ankle could only let her struggle so much. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

No one was going to be able to save this time. Not before he finished what he started two years ago...

Thunder crashed loudly.

"Akiko!" The girl screamed even louder, and curled into a ball when Touma was suddenly thrown off of her, the man yelling in pain as a fist made contact with his face multiple times.

Hikaru sat on top of him, punching him repeatedly and mercilessly in the face, anger clear in his eyes.

"Who the hell do you think you are touching her like that!? Get the fuck away from her, damn it!" Touma managed to catch managed to catch one of Hikaru's wrist and flipped him off of him and onto his back, Touma landing a punch in Hikaru's face instead. The twin growled and glared hatefully at the sick man as Touma wrapped his hands around Hikaru's neck, attempting to strangle him. However Hikaru had easily raised a knee and got him roughly in the stomach, knocking him off of him. Touma rolled onto his side and groaned, red marks and bruises forming on his face.

Neither he or Hikaru were going to be going home unscathed.

"She owes me!" Touma hissed, pushing himself to his feet. As he stumbled, limping. He pointed at her, "She owes me for what I did for her! She was crawling around the streets dirt poor and I gave her bread from my father's farm! I gave her shelter! She _owes _me!"

"I-I offered to pay you back with money!" She cried, pushing herself up onto her knees. "You refused!"

"Because I don't want your damn dad's money! I want _you! _It's not like there's any other use for a pretty girl anyway!" Touma was knocked onto his back once again, Hikaru having ran forward and socked him in the face.

"She's more than a pretty girl, damn it! You would know that if you weren't so shallow!" Akiko looked on with wide eyes, startled. "Unlike you sick bastard, she's nice! She's stubborn, prideful, a pain-in-the-ass," The girl's stunned look turned into that of annoyance, the fear almost completely dissipated at this point. Hikaru clearly knew how to hold his own, but did he really have to insult her? "But she's selfless and kind and she risked her life to save my brother! And for the record," He pointed at Akiko, not removing his glare from Touma, "I happen to consider her to be one of my friends, so if you lay another hand on her I'm gonna do even worse and report you to the police! I got friends in high places and you _really _don't want to piss me off anymore than you already have. So _scram_."

He removed his foot from Touma's chest, allowing the boy to curse at him before scrambling off in a hurry. Hikaru let out a breath he didn't know that he was holding and fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Hikaru..." He turned his head to look at her, offering a small grin.

"You okay over there?" She blinked, before nodding.

"Y-yeah... for the most part. I... I think I sprained my ankle or something." Hikaru frowned before cursing under his breath. He then looked up at the sky, commenting, "I don't think it's going to stop pouring anytime soon... we might just have to find somewhere to wait until it stops. Need me to carry you?"

"I don't need carried," She deadpanned, before turning her head in embarrassment. "I just... I just need some help walking. Th-That's all." Hikaru rolled his eyes at her before standing, limping over to her. He had taken quite a beating from Touma, but it wasn't as bad as what Hikaru had done to _him_. He knelt down beside her and wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders, his hand on her waist and pulling her against his side. Both their faces turned a little red, but at the moment neither one of them cared as they were just relieved to know that each other was safe.

After a while of wandering around lost in the forest, they found a church. More thunder crashed. The rain merely seemed to pour harder. Akiko pushed the door open with her free hand and the limped inside, taking a seat on one of the church benches.

Akiko let out a tired sigh, groaning. "I'm exhausted..."

"_You're _exhausted? You're not the one with a black eye. My good looks are ruined thanks to your sorry ass." Akiko sent him a look, Hikaru calmly returning in kind with a glare of his own. "If you didn't run off-"

"If _I _didn't run off? You're the one who freaked after hugging me!"

"Only because I thought you got lost! I thought you were going to leave me like-"

"Alex?" Hikaru went quiet, clamping his mouth shut as a pained look formed on his face before quickly vanishing. He turned his head away. Akiko's gaze softened and she said, "Look... I know you're upset about her; I'm hurt too. We're all upset about her condition, but we have to face the facts that there's nothing we can do about it. Alex is dying, Hikaru, and it's not preventable... we just have to move on and live for her sake, okay? She wouldn't want you to be beating yourself up over her." She placed a hand on his arm, trying her best to comfort him. Akiko was one of those people who was better with words than she was actions.

"...How can you say that?"

"...Do you want me to cry about it?" Hikaru's gaze snapped to her, and he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her sharp silvery gaze. He then noticed something odd... Her eyes, being so silver, seemed to be the moon reflected off the water from a lake at night. They were almost enchanting. Weird, how he's never noticed before. It was only then that he noticed _why _her eyes reminded him of the moon being reflected off of water-she was holding back tears. He could feel her hand shaking against his arm. Her skin was cold from the rain.

"Why don't you cry about it?"

"The same reason why you hate crying and get so ashamed about it," She responded, causing his eyes to widen. Her frown turned into a shaky smile, "I'm afraid that if I start... I won't be able to stop. I want to be strong. For her. For everyone around me. I want to be like Alex. Always smiling despite the pain... able to go on."

Hikaru was silent for a moment, and you could hear the rain pounding against the church's roof. After a minute, he said, "Smiling... doesn't always mean you're strong. Being... I think that being able to admit that you're scared... is what makes you strong." Her eyes widened, before her bottom lip started to tremble. She lowered her head, closing her eyes.

"R-Really? Then... is it alright... if I cry in front of you?" She looked up at him, looking utterly broken at this point. "B-Because... I-I don't know how much longer I can keep them held back... I-I just..." Her breathing grew shaky and she blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay. She sniffled, "I just can't..."

He sighed, before placing a hand on her head and making her lean over, her head now resting on his shoulder. "Whatever... go right ahead. I won't look if you don't want me too."

"Th-Thank you..." She whispered, voice cracking a little as she clung to him. "I-I'm sorry for all the mean things I said to you... I-I didn't-I didn't really mean them..."

Hikaru felt surprised, but he didn't show it. Instead he wrapped an arm around her and said, "Yeah... me too. I'm sorry." He could feel Akiko's tears stain his shirt. "And... if you don't mind..." She waited patiently for him to finish, allowing the tears to stream freely down her face for the first time since finding out about her best friend's condition. Hikaru finished awkwardly, "If you don't mind... can we start over as friends?"

"Y-yeah... 'Course." His hold on her tightened just a smidgen.

"...Thanks."


	31. Beautiful Lies and Harsh Truths: P1

_"Family means too much, friends are too valuable, and life is to short to put-off sharing with people how much they really mean to you, and how much their happiness is all that you aim for in life."_

"G-Get off of me!" Alex screamed, her entire body aching in protest. She felt like she was going to break into a million pieces, and as she screamed it tore at her throat, her lungs, and her chest. It felt like someone was trying to claw their way out from inside of her. "I-I won't let you do this-!" Alex was cut off harshly from an abrupt cough, blood spurting out of her mouth thickly and down her chin. It trailed down her neck and onto her clothes, staining the almost white fabric. Alex collapsed against the couch, unable to move as her body was just so weak.

She was so tired... she just wanted to sleep and never wake up. Why couldn't she just rest in peace? Why does Akari insist on doing this...?

_Kyoya... _Stop crying. _Smile. I want to see your smile. _She didn't want to die. She didn't want to leave everyone and seep into the darkness. She didn't want to die alone... but everyone dies alone, no matter what the circumstance is. It's just a matter of whether or not you die _happy_. And Alex was happy. But it didn't mean she wanted to die like this... she wanted to be old and have a family. She wanted to have grandchildren and hold her husband's warm hand... but Kyoya was going to have to move on. She doubted it would have even worked much longer, what with their differences... she wasn't an actual Hitachiin. His dad probably wouldn't have let them stay together, even if she were healthy. _I don't want to go, but... _

"I refuse to let you kill yourself for me!" Alex used what strength she could muster and screamed, reaching her hands up and grabbing Akari's chin, lifting her head up and trying to push her back. "Get-Get back-_blargh!_" She gargled up more blood and hacked, turning her head away and attempting to spit it all out as she kicked weakly at the girl holding her down. "N-No-!" She broke out into more coughs.

"I can only do this while your heart's still beating!" Akari cried, tears trickling down her cheeks. She had one hand wrapped around Alex's throat and the other pressed against her chest. "E-Equivalent Exchange!"

"N-No!" Alex's eyes stung painfully and she resorted to hitting Akari, trying to hurt her to make her get off. "L-Let go! Don't do it! What about-" Their names. What were their names again? She doesn't remember her old friends' names... Horror pierced Alex like a knife, sending her into shock. _I don't remember their names... the people I used to care so much for- why have I forgotten them? _

"You don't remember because you belong _here! _You have so many people who love you, Alex! You can't just leave them behind like this!"

"B-But I-" _I don't want you to kill yourself for me. _

She could hear the Host Club members screaming her name, Misuzu dialing a number frantically while Tamaki took the initiative to call Hikaru on his cell. He never answered. "Just let me _save _you!" Alex's hold on Akari's face slipped, and she tried to yell again but Akari quickly muffled her by leaning down and pressing her lips against hers. Alex's eyes went wide.

Blue electricity crackled around them suddenly, and you could hear the Hosts in the back gasping or crying out in shock and/or terror.

Akari was becoming less transparent; she was now a solid human being in the same dimension. Everyone could see her. And what's more... as Alex thrashed and cried, Akari keeping her screams muffled, her sickly skin was becoming healthier. The bags under her eyes were vanishing, her sunken cheeks filling. She began to look healthier, and less like a starved child who would have been so easily snapped in two. Her lifeless eyes became brighter, and less like she was on the brink of death.

But as that happened... Akari took a turn for the worse. She grew so pale, visibly loosing a lot of weight, her skin now damp and cold as ice. Her cheeks begun to to get sunken and started to resemble that of a corpse-just like Alex had been.

Because Akari had become so weak, Alex was finally able to push her away, screaming at her. "What the hell did I say!? I just-I just said not too!" Tears started falling uncontrollably and she pushed herself up, crawling and kneeling beside Akari's fallen form. Glaring at the girl as she lifted her up off the ground and onto her lap, she yelled, "Who-Who ever said you could die for me, damn it!? I-I said "no"! You should listen to me when I say "no"! I-I said no for my arm, I-I said no for the transaction between gates, I said _no for saving me!_"

Alex had snapped. She clinging to Akari by this point, rocking her back-and-forth. "I-I said no! Give it back! Give it all back! I'm the one who's supposed to die! G-Give me back the pain!" No one else in the room spoke a word, unable to process what was going on in front of their eyes. They just watched.

The rain had stopped falling.

"No one told you to save me, no one gave you any right to do that! S-So just give it all back!" She could watch and cry as Akari bubbled up blood. "Y-You shouldn't even be here! It-It's against the rules!"

Akari tried to laugh at that, whimpering, "Y-You don't know the rules... I-I spent my whole life with Truth... We-We're two different b-bodies and people entirely, Alex. W-We may be what that other person is... in another world, but... we-we can exist in the same space... He just likes to switch us out for fun."

"I don't give a damn about him! Truth can go die!"

"T-Truth is God, Alex... you can't kill God."

"He is no _god!_ Now-Now just shut up and give it all back!" Akari smiled at that and Alex inhaled sharply, feeling her heart sink into her stomach. It felt like a knife slashed across her chest. "It's not fair... Why? Why do you keep doing this? Why do you keep hurting yourself for me!?" There was no reason for it. Alex was just some random girl. Alex wasn't important. She... She was just a girl taken from her world, thrown into a show she used to watch when she was bored. Everyone she knew was actually real, written about and turned into entertainment because Truth is a cold bastard who likes to screw with peoples lives. Alex was just a girl... who became a Hostess.

That's all she was. A Hostess. She invaded upon their world and forced herself into being a part of it. She may have had little to no choice, but she kept going on... she dealt with it. She dealt with all this madness that was thrust upon her and now...

Someone was giving their life for her, all because of... what? She "saved" her? Alex did nothing of that sort. That was all Truth's doing.

"Alex..." Akari grabbed onto Alex's arm, trying to sit up. She let out a sound of pain and flinched, wheezing. "I-I just... I lied. Again."

"A-About what?" She demanded, voice shaking. Akari laughed a little at that, despite the intense amount of pain it brought upon her. Her vision was getting hazy. Her skull felt like it was about to break and shatter into a billion pieces. But she didn't regret it. She didn't regret anything she did.

"You... haven't figured it out yet? I-I thought you liked puzzles..."

"I-I do! I do like puzzles! But that doesn't mean that-"

"Alex..." The girl clamped her mouth shut in response, choking back a sob.

"Y-Yeah?"

Akari's breathing slowed. Her eyes became misty. They were beginning to cloud over... losing their life. "I... the reason I lied... is because I wanted to protect you. I wanted to keep... you safe."

"Safe? Safe from what!?"

"H-Harm..." She breathed, her grip on Alex's sleeve loosened just a bit before tightening in a last attempt. "I... I wanted to say... the first time I spoke to you, I felt... happy. I'm glad it was you, Alex... b-because... I just..."

"Y-Yeah? Come on, Akari; what is it?"

Akari hesitated, looking over Alex's shoulder at the man who mattered most in her's life. Instead of saying what she was going to originally, Akari changed her mind and relaxed. She smiled, closing her eyes. "I just... want you to be happy... okay? Promise me... that you won't... forget..." Her hold on Alex loosened and her body went completely limp. She was no longer breathing.

"Yeah?" Alex asked, shaking her a little. "A-Akari? Promise you what? Come on, answer me! Promise not to forget what!? What am I supposed to promise not to forget!? Akari!" Alex couldn't breathe. It was all happening too fast. "No, no, no; wake up already! Don't you dare! Don't you dare; just-just wake... up..." She trailed off, going completely silent as she sat there numb from shock. Akari is... dead. She's dead.

What was Akari going to tell her...?

What was Alex supposed to promise her? To not forget what? But that made no sense. It had to be something else. Alex didn't...

It was safe to say that Kyoya was the only one who knew the best out of the outsiders what was going on. Stepping forward and knelt down and embraced Alex from behind, despite still being in shock over what had just happened.

"She's dead..." Alex told him blankly, not sure how else to react. Akari was dead... "I don't know. Why did she just..." She looked at Kyoya with wide eyes, trembling. "Why-Why did she do that!? I-I said no and she still-she still..." She started to cry all over again, unable to stop the overflowing tears. The body in her arms was so cold... so thin and weak... she didn't need to do that. Alex was supposed to die. Akari shouldn't have gone and taken her sickness from her. "She-She still..." Alex felt someone pull Akari from her arms, the person setting the girl on the couch.

It was Mori.

"Hikaru?" Tamaki's voice rang out, slight clinical from shock. "Y-Yeah... It's Alex; she's...better now. W-Way better... I-I just..." He swallowed thickly, holding back his own tears after seeing the scene before him. "I can't explain just-just come as quickly as you can. A-Akiko's with you, right? G-Good... come back as soon as you can." He hung up and placed the phone in pocket, before looking down at Haruhi.

"What the hell..." She whispered, face still pale from the storm earlier. "What the hell just happened!?"

Kyoya's glasses glared over and he clung to Alex tightly, saying loud enough for everyone to hear him, "I'll explain later, just... don't worry about it right now. Call an ambulance, and then a funeral parlor. Tamaki... can you do that?"

Tamaki was shaken up, but managed a nod. He said, "Y-yeah... sure. Uh, M-Misuzu-Chii, can-can you make something for Alex? I-I can only imagine how hungry she is after being in that..." He swallowed and blinked a couple times, still at a loss of what happened. How had a girl appeared out of thin air? What was that blue electricity surrounding them? Just... Just how had their conditions swapped?

Nothing made any sense.

Misuzu was stunned for a moment, not really listening, before he snapped out of it and registered what Tamaki said. "Y-Yes, of course! E-Excuse me..." He quickly departed the room.

"K-Kyoya," Fuyumi began, taking a step forward and extending a hand. "Do you know something about those two that we don't?"

Kyoya was silent for a long time. When he spoke, he said solemnly, "Just know... that the daughter of the Ayuzawa that was said missing eleven years ago... is now found."

Fuyumi looked stunned. She began to say his name, but Kyoya didn't listen.

He ignored her, lifting up Alex and carrying her out of the room. Kaoru was about to chase after them, but paused when he remembered Akari. He turned to look at the deceased child, who was merely no more than fifteen. A girl too young to die. A girl who was just a few months younger than him.

She really did truly resemble his sister... Alex. But... there was just the slightest bit of difference that separated them. If she wasn't dead and was alive, just like she had been minutes before, she and Alex could have passed off for twins. They would have been just like he and his brother, but... Kaoru knew their story was far more complicated and twisted.

And as he thought about it, he caught sight of the scar on her jawline and forehead. That peaked his attention. Leaning forward he brushed the hair out of her face, despite being completely unnerved that he was touching a corpse, and looked her left arm which was covered with scars.

Scars identical to Alex's.

His eyes widened. _If Akari and Alex look alike, then that should be it. No person has the same scars as another. Even Hikaru and I have our differences in features. _This girl has more Japanese features compared to Alex's American face, but their build was almost completely the same, with a few differences. Akari's shoulders were narrow while Alex's are more broad, and Akari's nose was slightly pointier than Alex's. However, when it came to scars... they should never be the same. They could be close, but never the same.

Yet they were _identical_ in shape, placement, and form.

There was something that Alex was hiding.

Mitsukuni suddenly spoke, voice suddenly deeper than what it usually is. Everyone else who was left in the room turned to look at him, stunned at his words but realizing he had a point. "It makes sense. I don't really know what's going on here, but... she did something to save Lexi-Chan, didn't she?" No one answered. "Remember her arm? It used to be unusable." Kaoru remembered the therapist they had working with her, but after a month or so she stopped going because her arm was magically better. How had he not noticed? "But now it's working perfectly, as if it hadn't been harmed in the first place."

The X-rays of her arm he found in her room one day. He hid them from Hikaru because he didn't understand what she had them for. It was just a normal arm X-Ray. Nothing appeared to be wrong... and that was the problem it now seemed.

"Alex..." Mitsukuni called her by her name fully for once, rather than the childish name he usually calls her. "Alex isn't from here."

Haruhi exclaimed, "But she's Japanese, isn't she? Sure she has American decent, but she was born here in Japan! She used to be my neighbor!"

Mitsukuni shook his head. "No... that was Akari. This is Alex. You didn't hear their voices?" Haruhi closed her mouth, stunned. She had actually, she just thought she was going crazy because Alex had merely been arguing with herself until a figure appeared out of thin air. But she didn't think he was talking about that. Akari's voice happened to be higher and softer in pitch. Alex's was just a tad deeper. "They're totally different people, Haruhi. And because of that, because they're not the same person, they can "exist in the same space". By "here" I don't mean Japan... a country. I mean... a different world. She's from a whole different dimension."

"But there's only one world!" Haruhi protested. Kaoru and Fuyumi were as silent as Mori, who was standing beside the couch Akari was laying on. Tamaki had left the room to call everyone Kyoya had instructed him too and to calm himself down. "You're not making any sense!"

"I don't really know the details either..." Mitsukuni admitted sorrowfully, shadows covering his face as he lowered his head. "But Kanazuki told me that she could see through some Black Magic that Alex isn't from this dimension. I think she said she came from the eighth world or something. But..." He lifted his head and tried for a cheerful smile, "I-I'm sure that Lexi-Chan and Kyo-Chan can explain everything!"

Kaoru felt his heart tighten painfully in his chest. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to be feeling about all this.

What scared him most of all... is that if Alex had been hiding something like this from them... then did she really even think of him as her brother? Did she really even care for him and Hikaru? For Kyoya? For everyone in the Host Club?

Kaoru was terrified. He had no idea anymore. _Hikaru... Akiko... please hurry back._

* * *

"I... I don't know where to start," Alex admittedly quietly, fiddling with her hands as she looked down at her lap, unable to look at anyone. She felt so horrible. She felt shocked, numb, hurt, sad, relieved, _alive_... she was just a mess of emotions. So she did something she was good at and tried to bottle them all up. It's not something good nor healthy to do, but it was what she was going to have to do for the time being. "I... I honestly don't remember much about that day anymore."

Haruhi replied dryly, thoroughly peeved at everything that was happening, "How about from the _beginning_, Alex?" The girl flinched at the cold use of her name.

"I...I don't know. I was... It was my birthday, I remember that much." Everyone listened closely, gathered around the table in the kitchen. The second Hikaru and Akiko returned, they changed clothes and Kyoya made a temporary splint for Akiko.

It was safe to say the two teens didn't react well to the dead body, but the ambulance had yet to arrive so everyone decided to have Alex explain everything, despite the very recent events. She swallowed, looking up at Kyoya for a brief moment before flinching and lowering her head again. She already told him, so she had no reason to be scared, but... it hurt looking at him.

It was a nice hurt, but she knew that they really were going to have to stop this "thing" they had between them. She doubted his Dad would let them continue... after the events that happened. After making Kyoya go through so much pain... there was no way Yoshio was going to allow them.

He said himself that the only reason he let them go on is because she made him "learn" something "important". She didn't know exactly what that was, but she doubted that after this... after the funeral and after everyone goes back to their homes...

There was no way he was going to let them stay together.

Everything just hurts... being saved, greeting death and losing a friend, and this... he's so near and so close, yet so far away... and now she was on the brink of losing _everyone_. It was no doubt they were truly going to hate her now.

But then it would go back to how it should be, wouldn't it? Haruhi, Haruhi, Haruhi. The Protagonist. Although everyone is very much so real and flesh and blood in front of her... Alex was never meant to be here. Akiko shouldn't have gotten involved either. They were intruders. Invaders upon their land. It was never meant to be for them in the first place.

"I..." She inhaled deeply, thinking of how to start. After a few moments she began, ignoring the vegetable soup placed in front of her by Misuzu. "Well, I was visiting an old friend at the library, I think... N-No, wait, she _was _the librarian and she... gave me this book for my birthday. It was a manga. I was walking home, humming when I heard an old lady scream..."

Mitsukuni looked up at her, recognizing the story. "And you threw your book at the robber who was trying to take her purse, right!?" Alex finally looked up, a ghost of a smile on her face as she nodded.

"Yeah... that's right." She had told the story billions of times to the guests at the Host Club. Of course he would know. "I threw my book and it hit him in the head. He tried to shoot me, but missed and I backed out onto the street."

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other from the corner of their eyes. They remembered their chauffeur, the one with the frying pan, who had sworn he saw a flash of blue light. It was because of that light that he had hit the girl in the first place; he was blinded.

"I-I remember this flash of blue light and...there I was, rolling over the top of _their _limo," She pointed to the twins, "and taking a bullet for Kaoru. That blue light... that was Truth, a-a thing... well, you would call him God, I guess... he refers to himself as that; he looks like Slenderman though, only with your body shape. A-Anyway, that was Truth switching me out from my dimension... and into yours. He-He takes people... with special names, I guess, that have certain meanings. Or-Or maybe he can just see into your future, and decides if it's too boring and then throws you into another dimension to spice things up; I-I'm not really sure... I just know that when I woke up in the hospital... I wasn't home. I-I was in a different country, speaking a different language.

I-I'm really sorry for hiding this from you, but... you guys wouldn't have believed me anyway. Girl from a d-different dimension? C-Come on... you would have stuck me in an asylum." No one could protest, as they knew she spoke the truth. "I just... After Hikaru and Kaoru picked me up and made me with live with them, I just tried to fit in... but I guess wearing a three-sizes-too-big uniform kinda contradicts that, huh?" She chuckled bitterly, remembering how she always stole Hikaru's uniform. "I... I don't know if it was coincidence or if Truth was just being a sick jerk, but I-I'm really glad I got to meet you all.

A-Another reason I didn't tell you guys is because I didn't-I didn't want you to hate me..." The silence around the table only grew thicker. Everyone knew of that fear of hers. "A-And... my arm..." She held out her left arm, blinking a couple times as her eyes started to sting. Akari's image flashed through her head. "She... I... I didn't want this. I didn't want any of this. I-I didn't want her to damage her nerves in her arm to fix mine; I-I didn't want her to... to do this! I didn't want _any _of this! I-!" She pulled her arm back and clamped a hand over her mouth, choking back a sob. "I... I didn't want... I didn't want her to die..." Her voice went quiet.

"But it's not like what I want matters... you guys all hate me now, anyway... who would ever like someone who lied about something this big to them?" She sniffled and swallowed the lump in her throat, smiling at them with pained eyes. "B-But... I-I did always say I was already "dead", right? I-I told you I was taken from my family... I-I just... left out the part of being switched with-with..." It hurt so badly. Alex swallowed thickly, "Akari. It's understandable if you guys hate me now. I don't blame you."

No one was able to speak or make a reply, as sirens wailing loudly outside interrupted what continuation of the conversation could be had.

_"Why does it always rain the hardest...on those who deserve the sun?"_

**Ah, more confusion. Okay, I explained the "Other Half" thing in a paragraph like this before... Your "Other Half" may be you in a different dimension, but it is merely a VERSION of you, of what you "MIGHT BE" there. They are two completely totally different people. Like-Like think of twins, only unrelated at all, with subtle or very-out-there differences in personality, and-or body shape but still completely able to be confused with the other. They can exist in the same space (Dimension) but Truth switches them out to see how they would fare and to screw with the events that were originally to happen. You get it? Yay, nay? **

**An imaginary hug from Kyoya to _TheNightstriker _for guessing correctly that Akari would sacrifice herself.**


	32. Beautiful Lies and Harsh Truths: P2

_"People don't seem to know you or appreciate your value until you're gone."_

No one spoke. No one said anything as the ambulance took Akari Ayuzawa away on a stretcher, a white cloth hiding her body from view. She was going to be put to the morgue, and later a funeral home.

Tamaki was making preparations for it on the phone currently, being the only one who could still talk and think properly. He was truly the strongest one out of them all... and yet, maybe he was the saddest. A mother he could not have contact with, living in France with a weak constitution. He knew that he couldn't have any form of contact with her at all less his Grandmother stop giving her treatment and keeping her alive and well, but not a day went by that he didn't think about her, imagine her smile... her warm blue eyes.

When he had found out about Alex's sickly condition, he was automatically reminded of his mother and her own weak immune system. When he heard that Alex couldn't be cured, he was so scared... what if his mother became immune to the treatment? He didn't know if he could handle it... when they all thought Alex had _died_ it was as if the world had become grey, and he became all too aware of Haruhi who was clinging onto him frightfully.

He could only imagine the kind of the pain girl must have been going through... faking smiles every day, acting like everything was alright when it clearly wasn't. Tamaki knew what that was like, but he learned to live with the fact that his mother was sickly. Nothing would be gained from mourning. Tamaki knew that better than anyone. And yet still... to know she was going through that much pain...

He didn't want to prologue Alex's life if it was just going put her through her more agony... but then that_ girl_ appeared out of nowhere. Screaming about saving her, Alex crying out for her to let her die and leave her alone. Alex didn't want that girl...Akari... to do anything. Alex had accepted her cruel fate and was going to just let herself die. But Akari...

Tamaki, as seen with the Zuka Club, isn't very big on lesbians or gays, but will accept them so long as they're not rude like, once again, the Zuka Club. He found zero productivity as he believed God had created males and female for a reason, and that reason stemmed from the myth of Adam and Eve. He, though dense as he was most of the time, knew what Akari was going to tell Alex before she looked at Kyoya.

He saw the sad hurt in her eyes, along with the acceptance of that of someone in an unrequited love. As long as their loved one could be happy... they'd give up everything. Akari was exactly like those girl in the romance dramas he watches, sacrificing herself for the one she loves-who just so happened to be _Alex_. Akari loved Alex, and merely wished for her happiness...

Which is why, even though Alex had lied to him and the rest of his "family", he was going to forgive her.

Tamaki was just that kind of person. However... he had a feeling Haruhi was going to be a different story. She appeared the most angry about all this. But, perhaps one of the reasons Tamaki was going to forgive Alex so easily is that... she reminds him of his mother who's all the way back in France. Alex was a lot like Tamaki himself, especially during the first few months they knew each other.

Alex was so warm and caring... cheerful and always smiling. Just like his mother. He, oddly, found himself accepting the relationship between her and his best friend. Normally Tamaki would be throwing a fit about losing his "daughter", but she wasn't really his "daughter", was she? Haruhi was his "daughter", but...

...everything was spiraling out of control. It was making him realize things that he never had before. Things that made him feel like a complete idiot.

What "father" would want to marry his "daughter"?

After hearing Kyoya's confession, seeing how he acted with her and stayed by her bedside constantly, after seeing how he clung and hovered over her after Akari gave her life to save her... and after seeing Haruhi's crying face...

"Yes... next week. I'll send you the money from my bank account. Thank you." Tamaki hung up the phone and sighed, running a hand through his bands thoughtfully before leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

_I can't believe I'm in love with Haruhi... _he was more than certain that was what it was by now. These past few months have been a terrible pain... but these last few days have been the worst he's ever been through. To have watched someone _die _in front of his very own eyes... he was never going to forget it. In fact, he doubted anyone would.

And after hearing Alex's explanation... it made sense as to why she had always had this "otherworldly" feel about her. It wasn't... something big or something small... it was just a strange feeling he had when he first saw her. He never knew what to make of it until then. He always thought that it was because she had been a hero and saved Kaoru's life, because she was a foreigner, but now... now he knew.

Alex was from a different world entirely. _Dimension_, she put it.

He wondered how everything was going to turn out from then on. Would the rest of the club accept her like he and Kyoya, or would they shun her... like she had been so fearful of since the beginning? He remembered her running out Nekozawa's Black Magic club screaming and crying. He remembered picking her up and holding her against him, the girl kicking and screaming and demanding him to let her go as he "hated' her.

The girl couldn't have been more wrong. No one hated her. In fact, they all cared very much about her. It's just... with everything that's been happening...

"Mother..." He began quietly, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. He wondered if she could hear him all the way from France, but knew it was a foolish thought, "Do you think they'll forgive her?" There was no answer.

* * *

Haruhi was pissed. Not about the fact that Alex was from a different dimension, but that she had _lied_. Haruhi could care less about where Alex came from; in fact, Alex could have came from Egypt or Europe or-or she could be an _alien! _She technically was an alien anyway, but who is to say exactly other worlds don't exist? Granted Haruhi herself said that there was only one world, but how else was she supposed to react in that situation?

Haruhi was terrified at everything that had happened. It was no surprise she'd be mad at Alex for lying. But she couldn't hate the girl for it... like she said, if she had told them where she came from when they first met Haruhi _would _have called the police and stuck her in an asylum. It was so far-fetched it was nearly impossible to believe...

...but it was the only thing that made sense in all this chaos. How her arm was working, how that girl appeared out of thin air-why Akari had _vanished _instead of being found dead with her family. It made sense as to why Alex was suddenly breathing, walking, acting like a completely healthy human being.

Haruhi had no idea if she could forgive Alex for lying or not, but she _did_ understand her reasons for it. If she was in the same situation, being taken away from her life by some higher being... by a God... and into a whole different world, she probably would have done the same thing. Alex had been completely logical, but actually...

The entire time... Alex had been doing nothing _but _telling them that she was "dead". That she had been taken away from her life. Haruhi just figured that meant that because her parents died, she hated God. She hated living and the she wished she was dead. But Alex had said countless times that she wasn't from there. Haruhi felt like a total idiot for never noticing... but how could she? She was convinced that Alex had amnesia or something from how she always talked about how she "wasn't from there". It was said in the papers that she was kidnapped, but... that wasn't the real story, was it?

The _true _story, the _honest _story has just been unveiled... The real story was about a young teen taken from her world, forced to blend in and find her own path in the strange world. That girl, who had lost everything, had gained everything... only to lose the one who gave her her second chance at life, who _has_ just given her her final chance to survive.

Akari... sacrificed herself. To save Alex. Haruhi couldn't seem to process it. She closed her eyes and hung her head, shaking it slowly.

"No... she was just a client for the Pension. I didn't know her, but I knew she was sick. She was resting here at the Pension because she wanted to have her final days in a nice place, and she had heard that there was a man who could play the piano beautifully. That's all I really know about her other than her name."

"And what would her name be, Miss Fujioka?"

Haruhi opened her eyes, staring at him in his own. "Her name is Akari Ayuzawa."

* * *

Going with the story Kyoya and Haruhi had come up with, the interrogation with the cops went by smoothly. There was whispering about Akari as they carried her out, the cops apparently completely flabbergasted. Akari Ayuzawa's disappearance had been settled as a cold case, the girl unable to be found anywhere. It was assumed once that _Alex _was Akari at the very beginning by the bloodtesting, but those results had later changed. Their blood was very similar, but not quite the same.

She was assumed a cousin of Akari's and the police let Alex go without anymore words, Hikaru only able to watch as the girl left the lobby. She trailed up the stairs completely silent, her hair covering her face.

Alex being alive... it was a miracle. It was even more of a miracle that she appeared completely healthy, as if she didn't loose twenty pounds, as if she hadn't stopped eating, as if she hadn't... hadn't been sick at all...

As if she were still completely and totally normal. The girl he had been speaking to months ago... before she started getting sick. Before she was bedridden.

Hikaru had conflicting emotions.

He didn't know if he should feel betrayed and hurt and hate her, or if he should let his relief take over and go against his better judgement. After all, she had lied to him about where she came from... and that girl who was carried away on a stretcher...

Who was she? Why did she... why did she look so much like Alex? Hikaru wanted to know. He wanted to know why everything was kept from him and his brother. Because out of all of the Hosts, he thought they deserved to know the most. They're her _brothers_, aren't they? So why did she hide everything?

Why did she keep it a secret even though... even though they let her so close to their hearts?

"Hikaru..." Kaoru reached out his hand and placed it on his brother's shoulder, before wrapping his arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. He closed his eyes, "I don't know what to do either. Do you think... do you think she ever really thought of us as brothers?" She never said anything of that sort; Alex only said that she didn't want them to hate her. Kaoru wanted to know so badly... that was the only thing he was worried about at the moment.

It didn't matter where she came from or who she used to be; all that mattered to him is if the girl he considered _family _loved him as a brother or not. The betrayal they felt when they were little was so much that it caused them both to become twisted... made them cold and cruel. They met Alex and made her their "toy" because they wanted entertainment... because she was a challenge that seemed not to break. But over time he and his brother gradually came to really love her as though she was their sibling, as if they were blood-related.

But to know that she hid this from them hurt... it pierced them deep. It was understandable why she did it; Kaoru probably wouldn't have believed her if he didn't see her and Akari _swap _their health conditions. He wasn't sure how else to explain it. Akari went from completely healthy to fatally sick, and Alex sick to healthy. It was unbelievable.

It confused Hikaru to no end how all of this was happening. He got back to the Pension with Akiko and there was a dead body in the middle of the lobby, resting on a couch. Then Tamaki had them get changed out of their wet clothes while Kyoya attended to Akiko and made her a splint out of the kit he always carried around because of Alex's habit of hurting herself all the time. Then there was Alex's brief explanation that didn't really explain anything...

_Was it magic or what? _Did magic even exist? Hikaru had no idea. He just wanted to know.

The gaping hole inside of his chest ached, as if it didn't know what to do with itself anymore after Alex's sudden recovery and her shocking betrayal. Why would she have lied to them? Granted if she told the truth at first they definitely would have stuck her in the loony bin, but to know she hid it from them _all _this time? Surely she'd have trusted them enough by now! Why did they have to find out like that!? What's the whole story anyway? She just got transported by some god or whatever?

The hell is up with that? He wanted the _real _story. _Now.  
_

Hikaru froze when he heard Kyoya's voice on the other side of the door, his hand resting just above the doorhandle.

* * *

Mitsukuni wasn't really all that mad. He was more startled than anything, but growing up in a family of martial artists and practicing in the dojo his whole life taught him to not only discipline himself mentally, but spiritually as well. Mitsukuni also did have a slight belief in the Supernatural, and the explanation Alex had given did make sense to him.

"Equivalent Exchange" that girl had said. From his thoughts on it he assumed it meant that one has to give something to receive something in return, which helped the theory he had forming in his mind. The reason why Alex's arm was suddenly so functional all those months back was because Akari had given her own arm. She then gave her healthy disposition and immune system to Alex, taking any and all sickness and pain away from her and thus causing her death...

When Mitsukuni had saw Alex on the Inn bed in her room that day, his heart had dropped into his stomach. She was a very dear friend to him and to have thought that he would have lost her... he remembered the day at Kyoya's family resort when they were both washed away by the current and he had to use CPR on her to awaken her. He was so scared. He would have turned the resort to shreds to find some professional medical help if it meant she could have lived. But she woke up and his world brightened again.

Only once again to lose her on the beach. She had a very bad habit of getting herself badly hurt and more often then not she ended up with a sprained ankle or twisted wrist and Kyoya was left to patch her up again. Alex was always getting herself hurt and in bad situations and to think that she was actually dying...

When she had first gotten sick he told Takashi to think nothing of it, he and the male figuring it was just a simple cold. Later he figured it was the flu seeing how long it was taking for her to recover, but she was merely getting paler each day. He started to get worried.

He knew his cousin was concerned as well. He saw Mori casting glances at her sometimes, wondering if she was about to fall over or if she would have a fainting spell due to her sickness.

But he had never imagined it to be so dire. He lost his hold on his precious Usa-Chan and something let loose inside of him. His childish facade broke for a few minutes and that was all it took for him to rush to her room and break down crying. _Alex... _Now, with everything that had just transpired, she was probably in an even worse condition.

Physical pain was something extremely horrible, the emotional pain only adding to it. But the mental pain one feels... she had just recovered from her physical dilemma, and now she was here left emotionally and mentally damaged, most likely believing Akari's sacrifice a "death on her hands". He could only wonder how she was going to get through this, but he knew that she would need all the support of her friends.

It's only a matter of if they would all help her or not. He was for certain of Takashi and himself, along with Tamaki and Kyoya, but Haruhi and the twins...

The twins he was worried about most. They had been twisted beyond belief by a betrayal once in their life. This is a betrayal just as bad to them. Having been told they would never be told apart, and now to be told by someone who could tell them apart that she's been lying to them all along...

"Poor Hika-Chan and Kao-Chan... they must be really hurt." Mitsukuni whispered, staring at the pink bunny he was holding tightly in his arms. Takashi's eyes trailed down his cousin, before nodding slowly in agreement.

"Yeah..." There was a long and tense silence, an almost suffocating atmosphere surrounding them before Mori said, firm in his belief, "They'll forgive her in the end. Alex... is not one you can so easily hate."

Mitsukuni looked almost surprised at his cousin's words, having not expected him to say so much, before he gave a teary-eyed smile. "Yeah, you're right! Hika-Chan and Kao-Chan, and Lexi-Chan are all family! And family _always _forgives one another! Isn't that right, Usa-Chan?" He gave a tiny giggle in an attempt to lighten the mood, holding his stuffed friend in front of him. "Yeah, I think so too! Takashi is right."

* * *

"Y-You don't get it! You don't get it, you don't get it; I killed her, I killed her-she didn't listen to me even though I told her not to which makes it _my _fault!" Alex jabbed a finger to her chest, staring up at Kyoya with huge eyes, ready to break down at any given moment. She was already crying silently, tears streaming down her face without her making a single sob. She just yelled at him, trying to get him to understand. "I-I _killed _her, Kyoya! Why don't you get that? The-The Police were just downstairs a-and they questioned me and-and you don't know how hard it trying not to-to..." She sniffled and bit her bottom lip, trembling. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"I-It's so scary..." She had never been more frightened. "T-To see her... To see her like that when she was just so..._healthy _a moment ago. I-I don't understand it... Why would she do that? Why would she kill herself for me!?" She let out an agonized screamed, scratching at her head furiously and ruffling her blood-soaked hair. Her nearly-white shirt was stained with red. "I-I never did anything for her! I'm a murderer, damn it!"

"Alex, you know that isn't true."

"Yes, it is! I-I _killed _her!" She let out a small sound when Kyoya reached forward and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, staring her in the eyes intensely. "I-It's all my fault..." She whimpered, her voice faltering at the look in his eyes.

"It is _not_. Akari merely wanted to help you; she would not want you grieving over her like this." He remembered seeing her hover beside Alex's bedside, he remembered the transparent figure whispering to him that everything was going to be alright in the end. He may not personally _know _Akari, but he knows enough to realize that Akari would not want Alex mourning over her death and blaming herself. "Akari sacrificed herself for you because she wanted to you to live," and while he may not know all the details about the "exchange" that went on, he knows enough. Alex was going to die, and to prevent that Akari had given her life. Her health. Her being. "Because she wanted you to be _happy_."

That seemed to resonate with Alex, the girl going still in his arms. "She..." Akari did say that. "Y-Yeah, but... I-"

"You did _not _kill her. It was a _sacrifice_, not a murder." She lowered her head at his words, repeating them over in her head. Alex... didn't kill her? "Now quit being a moron and crying about how things should have happened. She wouldn't want you to let her death be in vain. Besides, as long as you don't forget her I'm sure it'll be fine."

Alex's head shot up and she stared at him with wide eyes. She inhaled sharply and asked, "What did you say?" Kyoya blinked.

"I said-"

"No, no, I heard what you said! I-I meant..." Kyoya's eyebrow twitched, feeling annoyance prick at him but he could help but admit he loved having Alex back with him. "Not to forget her... Kyoya?"

"What?"

"...I think... I know what she-what she was going to say now..."

Kyoya paused, before saying, "You think she was going to tell you not to forget about her?" Alex nodded slowly, sniffling before letting out a tiny hiccup.

"Y-Yeah... She-She wanted me to promise not to forget something. I-It makes sense... I-I'm the only who knows who she really is, r-right?" _Akari... why? Why me? _Alex was never going to stop pondering that. _Why save **me**? _She was just another girl... there were many people out there so much more deserving of life than she and yet...

"Alex..."

"I-I'm fine. I-I just... I just..." She squeezed her eyes shut, everyone's faces flashing in her mind. "E-Everyone's going to hate me... H-Hikaru and Kaoru are gonna disown me, T-Tamaki's gonna kick me out of the club... H-Haruhi and A-Akiko are... e-everyone's gonna hate me!" She choked back a sob, hands covering her face as she tried to get the tears to stop. "I-I can't face them again... I-I can't do this..."

How was she going to react when everyone started to prod her for more answers? What if they just ignore her completely? Alex wasn't going to be able to handle it. She could do Akari the one favor to not forget her, but... Alex may just be forgotten herself.

And just _where _the hell is the bathroom? The police wouldn't let her go while they were interrogating her, and she also didn't remember the way as her memory was slightly foggy...

_"It hurts when you try to make things right, but all they can see in you is wrong."_

** ALEX LIVES! I know you all are gonna hate me for makin' you think she was gonna die, but... I'm a happy-ending kinda person. **

**The worst part is over and the story is coming to a close. Don't ask me how many chapters are left, 'cause I honestly don't know. I make this up for the most part as I go along. XD I just know it's not gonna last much longer. **

**But Mitsukuni, Takashi, and Tamaki are chill. Kyoya is definitely chill. Haruhi's a bit conflicted and Hikaru just wants to know what the hell is goin' on. Kaoru's a bit on the fearful side of whether their relationship with Alex is real or not, and Akiko... well, we're find out soon, won't we? (Raised eyebrows) And I know at least ONE OF YOU are thinking 'You brought up Kyoya buying a ring for Alex; is he ever gonna propose"? **

**I plan on it. Dunno when though. But you all can stop eating your ice cream and cuddling you stuffed animals and real-live animals (looks at the cat trying to walk on keyboard) because the worst part is over! (Throws confetti before screaming in realization it was an important drawing) Akari is dead though, so that's saddening. I always cry writing a character death. Actually, scratch that, I cry at everything and anything sad. Lost count of how many times I balled my eyes out during _Fairy Tail_. Started rewatching _Inuyasha_ (An anime I rarely cried at when I was little) and I started balling in the episode with the soul piper and the ghost girl Mayu. It was sadder than I remembered... BUT BACK TO THE POINT!**

**Takashi... I'm slightly torn. He strikes me as the kind of guy who would bottle up his feelings until he's alone, because he's that kinda guy who's strong for everyone else. So I may not ever actually type his sadness, unless it's through maybe a few short words. He might have a big part in a future chapter, but I dunno. We'll find out when we get there. **


	33. Forging Bonds Once Again: P1

**Sorry for the major emotional rollercoaster, but I don't think stuff is over yet. I'd also like to thank LoSt SaNiTy for sending me that link to _Terrible things _by Mayday parade. I can see why it kept popping up into your head while you were reading. XD Agh, now I'm crying. T-T **

**But I'm officially a Sophomore now, woo~! Also most likely ostracized out of everyone in my English Class because I got 6/6 on the the essay (which was supposed to have five paragraphs, but I put four. Oops) on the first try while lazying it. My teacher looked like she was about to wet herself when I showed her my score. (Sweatdrops and looks around nervously) "I'm sorry~!" According to my dad I'm way above my grade level in English and was actually college level, considering if "that's your lazy work, then I'm curious as to what you're serious work is". Well, this is my serious work, folks! :D **

**People keep looking at me like I'm an alien. I'm crazy, yes, but not an alien. I'm sorry for genuinely enjoying writing and drawing, okay? Oh, I need to get this story done so bad... why do I procrastinate all the time? Then again, I also had pretty bad writer's block. I couldn't figure out how I wanted Tamaki's and Kyoya's conversation to go, or if I wanted Hikaru/Kaoru or Haruhi to visit Akiko. Two more weeks until second tri... I'm gonna bomb math again; I know it. DX **

**I've also gotten obsessed with _Kingdom Hearts _again recently, so most of this is probably going to be really cheesy. God, I love Disney. XD WHEN WILL KH3 COME OUT GOD DANG IT! Just recently beat Dream Drop Distance and 358/2 Days. **

**"Look, Buzz! The release date for Kingdom Hearts III!" **

**"Where, Woody!?" **

**"BWAHAHAHAHA!" **

**...Stupid memes. I'm finally sixteen now! WOO! And I nearly got me and my dad blown up yesterday! I was trying to turn the key enough so I could see how much fuel there was, because he asked me to as he was pouring gas in, but I ended up turning on the car. I'm also really bad with keys,a nd it took me about two minutes before I managed to get the thing off-Dad yelled at me, I cried, he said that it was okay since I didn't know and explained HOW and WHY the car would of blown up, and I ended up hibernating in the bathroom today at school and crying again. ...Yay. He said that because he was filling in the gas, "fortunately" he said, he'd get hit first and I'd have a chance to get out of the car. THAT ISN'T FORTUNATELY! Then he admitted that he knew that he talks about terrifying stuff after saying that if he did get blown up, I'd hear him screaming until the ambulance would have arrived, and that he'd already be dead. **

**if he didn't get his surgeries he'd be dead. Anything could happen to anyone at any moment that could kill them. He constantly reminded me that he'd be dead, or would only live for this many amount of years, if he didn't get all three surgeries. **

**I'm a firm believer on Happy Endings, so you guys can rest assured that this story will end on a happy note. I don't think this chapter is very good, but I've been working on it for ages as I couldn't figure out how it should go. I reached the major plot point I wanted to get to. **

_"Sometimes the person who tries to keep everyone happy is the most lonely person."_

**December 19, 2014**

Akiko fiddled with the book in her hands for a moment before letting it drop to her side, the girl falling back and lying on her bed with arms sprawled above her head. Everything had happened so fast... it was almost impossible to process. One minute she and Hikaru were in the church, waiting for the rain to stop. The next they were getting a call from Tamaki about how Alex somehow started getting _better_. It took a while before they were finally able to get a taxi, but when they did they rushed to the Inn as fast as they could. They were not expecting to see Kyoya cradling a crying Alex in his arms, the girl appearing perfectly healthy.

But that wasn't the bad part. The thing that horrified them most was how there was dead girl, one whom looked very much like Alex, lying on the couch. She looked Japanese, unlike Alex, but completely and totally... _lifeless_.

Neither protested as Kaoru ushered them out of the room quietly and into the kitchen, quickly explaining (or at least trying to from what he all understood) what happened. Not long after that Tamaki had rounded everyone up into the kitchen, leaving Alex to give a proper explanation as to everything that really happened. She didn't touch any of the food Misuzu made and placed in front of her, merely sitting there silently-even when the Police came to interrogate her.

Kyoya remained by her side the whole time. The only time they were separated was when Kyoya had to be questioned, which left Alex with his sister, Fuyumi.

_So she's like me... _Their situations were just a little different however. Unlike Alex who was taken from her home, her dimension, as a teenager, Akiko was taken when she was just a small child. She was lost in the streets, wandering and crying for her parents, before realizing that she was completely alone in a different place in Japan, in a _whole other world_. Akiko, after a month or so, came to realize that she would die if she didn't start to fight for her survival. So she started to steal, running for her life and staying in different parts of town so she wouldn't be caught. It was only a few years later that a boy named Touma found her and gave her food and shelter.

She didn't know how cruel people could be until that point in time. She only knew how to manipulate people into caring for her before Akiko ran away. So when Touma tried to molest her, she didn't know what to do other than scream. Luckily the man who adopted her, Michiru Urushihara, had been visiting the boy's farm that day and heard her screams. Akiko had no idea how she could repay him for saving her, so she accepted his offer of adoption and played the part of the Urushihara Heir, learning how to be a proper lady and how to dress for certain occasions, figuring out how to do the tea ceremony properly and how to speak like a noble woman. She was an "orphan" after all, and Mrs. Urushihara was completely barren, unable to have children.

Akiko was taught to be modest, kind, and gentle. It was because of those lessons she was made to learn that her split-personality had formed. She sometimes reverted from her usual self, blunt and hotheaded, to a shy and introverted girl who stuttered a lot. She had became this total fraud after a few years of pretend and she was stuck being her lady self. That was, until Alex came. She changed her back; Alex changed her back into who she really was. She learned Haruhi's secret and because of that she made two really great friends, later Akiko actually getting close to the Host Club.

She still wasn't too big a fan of Tamaki, but his heart _was _in the right place despite his idiocy at times. Kyoya was frightening every now and then, probably the embodiment or host of Lucifer, but Mitsukuni and Takashi were pretty cool. Kaoru was really nice to talk to, but Hikaru was so much like her at times that they practically repelled each other, fighting as neither refused to back down due to stubborness and pride.

However they were all friends now. Everyone in the Host Club are friends, no- _family_, and to think that Alex's small lie could drive them all apart... Akiko wouldn't stand for it. Alex was her friend no matter what. _Though if I think about it, I'm probably only accepting of it because we're in similar situations... _But she couldn't process why that girl would have sacrificed herself like that. _The only reason I can think of is that she loves Alex, but... they don't really know each other, do they? _She hoped Alex was doing alright, but as long as Kyoya and Fuyumi stay with her... she should be fine. _Alex always has been one to touch other's hearts without even trying... just a single smile from her makes you feel warm. _Her chest hurt, thinking about how her best friend could be aching right now-under the belief that everyone hates her. _She's such a goofball... I'm really glad Kyoya-Sempai is looking after her. _

Akiko let out a long and tired sigh before sitting up, hanging her head as stress lines formed. "Why did everything turn so dramatic?" It was like those TV shows where the protagonist goes through a lot of pain and misery, dies multiple times but still comes back. Oh, wait, that's _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. "My bad..." That was when there was a knock on the door. She paused, surprised, before lifting her head and looking at it. There was more knocking and a few moments she called, "Who is it!?"

She honestly wasn't expecting the person who came through the door.

* * *

Alex hugged her knees to her chest as the hot water splashed against her skin, her brown her sticking to her face half-washed. She just seemed to lack the energy to finish rinsing the shampoo out and merely sat down, going over the events in her head. She remembered how she first appeared in this world... how she met everyone and became friends, how she gained a real family and... Kyoya. He's always there for her...

_How come I can never be there for him? _She tried to comfort him many times, but the time when he really needed it she could do nothing. Alex was only able to lay there in bed, sick, and ask Haruhi for help when she needed to go to the bathroom. How _humiliating _and degrading that is on someone... _I'm always causing trouble. I try to help others and yet I only hurt them and become a burden to them... _Akari shouldn't have sacrificed herself.

Yes, Alex didn't want to die, but she wasn't going to let someone kill themselves for her. She tried to stop her, she tried to keep her alive, but Akari resisted and... she's dead now.

Alex's eyes moved to her hand, looking at the odd healthiness of it. It had once been so pale-nearly blue, and so thin you could almost see her bones due to all the weight she had lost. _It's unnatural... so unnatural... I don't like this. _It wasn't normal. _It's not me. It's not me! _Alex scratched at her hand furiously, curling her lips back as she ground her teeth together. _My arm's not even mine... she's taken it all. It all belongs to her! _First her world, then her arm, now her life...

Alex let out a whimper, bringing her hands to her head. She could no longer tell if she was crying or if it was just the water from the shower head. _No... no, stop that. Stop thinking. You tried to save her. _Her thoughts were going against her. Just when Alex was beginning to think that she was getting over it, when she was accepting Akari's death, her mind was taking over and having a mental breakdown.

She suddenly couldn't breathe. It was like walls were closing in on her-suffocating her. She choked, sobbing, and clawed at her throat and chest trying to get oxygen. A sudden rush of panic rushed through her and black dots started to dance in her vision, and it almost didn't register to her that she was having an anxiety attack. She was hyperventilating. Alex tried to even her breathing, attempting to calm herself as she watched her hands shake. She was trembling and the once warm water now felt cold.

_W-Wake up, Alex... you're fine. You're not a murderer. She saved you, you should be grateful. _

Alex couldn't prevent her from killing herself.

_You should have tried harder to stop her. _

It was Akari's decision.

_There was nothing you could do. _

Who is the one to blame really?

_You... or her? _

No; it was the one who sent her here. Truth. It was all it's fault...

_Everything is it's fault... _Alex found herself able to breathe normally, no longer trembling. Instead of panic or fear or guilt, she just felt angry. Angry at God. Angry at the _world_. _It's all Truth's fault... God is to blame. _He shouldn't even exist. But if he didn't... if he didn't exist or bring her here...

Alex felt completely hopeless again and leaned her back against the wall, whimpering as the water hit her face. She just couldn't find herself able to stay angry and she hated it. For if it wasn't for Truth, the _real _God, then she would have never met anyone. She'd have never met the twins or Kyoya. She wouldn't have a real family... a family that cares. Friends so kind... And according to Akari's memories, she'd still be sitting inside an empty white space surrounded by doors, watching as Truth played his cruel games.

"He's such a bastard..." She muttered, curling her lips back. A single tear fell down her cheek. _But if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have met anyone. She wouldn't of had another chance at life. I would have died a long time ago. _At the very beginning, where it all began, if Truth hadn't made that switch and deal with Akari, Alex would have died in the crash-struck by a normal car. Or, perhaps, she wouldn't have been hit by a car at all and would have, instead, been shot by the madman.

No one would have been there to save her. Nobody would have called the police and carried her to the hospital. She would be dead, buried in the ground.

"I-I just can't be angry..." She shakily admitted to herself, unable to understand why. She should be angry, but at the same time she just _couldn't _be. Another thought came to her and she hugged herself again, lowering her head as she silently cried. "...but everyone's so angry at me." Alex had no idea how she was going to get out of this one. There was absolutely no reason why anyone should forgive her for this.

She lied. She told such a big lie... _I forgot to ask how Akiko was doing. _She still didn't know if Akiko actually encountered the bad man or not. She hoped she didn't.

* * *

"Kyoya..." The spectacles-wearing male slowly lifted his head from the carrot he was currently chopping up. Despite popular belief, Kyoya did have some skills in cooking. He had to do some research in the past due to Tamaki's stupid and idiotic schemes and it was a class he took up in order to try to surpass his older brothers. He had to beat them in everything after all, culinary skills _included_. The reason he is currently cooking now, as you might of guessed, is because he wanted to make sure Alex is eating properly.

He still wasn't sure what to make of the feeling in his chest sometimes, or the twist in his gut that ranged from happiness to fear, but he was more worried than ever. She was sure to be very unstable after everything, despite the apparent "front" she put up after she came to the realization that Akari would not wish to be forgotten. He was currently cooking chicken fried rice.

The male who approached took a seat at the bar, watching curiously and confusedly as the older teen cooked. "What are you doing...?"

"Making lunch." Kyoya responded calmly before sliding the carrots off the cutting board with the knife and into a bowl with sliced onion. He didn't even bother lifting his head as he asked, "What do you want, Hikaru?" He had a suspicion he knew what the Hitachiin boy wanted. No doubt he wanted to talk about a certain brunette. "I'm rather busy making sure your sister doesn't starve herself at the moment." Rather cruel thing to say, he knew, but he needed Hikaru to feel guilty in order for him to speak to Alexandria.

Hikaru was stubborn and prideful as an ox, so unless he felt so bad about his behavior he'd refuse to approach and apologize. Kyoya needed to manipulate him for things to go well, and judging by Hikaru's flinch at his words everything will end just fine. "She... she's not stupid enough to not eat."

"Are you certain? She can get quite depressed at times, Hikaru. Do you not know your sister as well as you thought you did?"

"Alex doesn't get depressed!" Hikaru retorted, slamming his hands on the bar countertop. Hikaru had seen Alex in one of her worst times, seen her beat herself up over a lot of things, but she _didn't _get depressed. It just wasn't her. Kyoya paused and locked eyes, onyx meeting caramel. Hikaru faltered a little, seeing the cold look. "She... doesn't... right?"

"Perhaps she doesn't in your eyes," Kyoya began slowly, voice low, "but more often than not I find her crying over something. I find her hiding and I ask what's wrong. Do you even realize where the scars on her hands are from? She once cut herself on rose thorns. She's self-harming, Hikaru; you should know this."

Hikaru paled a little. Sure he knew Alex overthought things and blamed herself a lot for the smallest of things, but she wouldn't actually hurt herself would she? She's stupid at times, often risking her life for people she either does or doesn't know, but she wouldn't try to... kill herself because of him ignoring her, right? _Alex wouldn't... she's not that reckless. _Kyoya knew her the best out of anyone in the Host Club though, so surely what he said is true... No. _But... _He wasn't sure anymore. His gut twisted painfully in worry. _Alex is fine. She's perfectly fine. She wouldn't... do anything that stupid. _

An image of her lifeless form reappeared in his head and he went completely still, breath hitching in his throat.

Kyoya wouldn't lie to him. Not about Alex. Not about... his little sister...

"That's why I'm keeping an eye on her-even now. I'm bringing her meals and comforting her whenever needed. Though with the way she's thinking right now, even if you visit... she's sure to think you hate her even now." Kyoya _knew _that was what Alex was currently thinking; he was able to read her like a book. Alex was going to doubt and hurt until the people she was crying over told her how they felt.

"But I _don't_!" He snapped, finally breaking. He created a small dent on the counter when he punched it. "I don't hate her!" Hikaru was holding back tears, grounding his teeth together as his lips curled back.

"Then tell her that instead of complaining to me. I'm _busy_, Hikaru. Or maybe you really do hate her-you haven't bothered to talk to her at all since yesterday. Are you scared to face her now that she told the truth of her origin? Or are you under the impression that she's not even _human_-"

Everyone in the Inn stopped what they were doing as they heard the sound of Kyoya's glasses hitting the floor, Hikaru's fist slamming into Kyoya's face.

"Why don't you just _shut the hell up!?_" Hikaru demanded, before turning around and storming off. Kyoya calmly knelt down and picked up his glasses, inspecting them for any cracks before putting them back on. He casually went back to what he was doing, unaffected by what just happened if not for the stinging pain in his left cheek.

Tamaki stood at the kitchen entrance in shock, unable to believe what just happened. He felt anger towards Hikaru for a moment, but worry for Kyoya took over and he quickly made his way over to his friend, fussing over him despite Kyoya's calm protests.

"I'm alright, Tamaki; It's not like I didn't expect it." Tamaki faltered, staring at him with wide eyes, before his gaze softened sadly. He placed a hand on Kyoya's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze before releasing him, wishing he could give his friend another hug. The Kyoya now... it still resembled the destructive Kyoya Tamaki saw in the cottage, only tame. No longer broken, but still clearly hurting... Kyoya moved away to finish cooking, glasses covering his eyes from view.

_Don't you dare do something you'll regret; I haven't even said anything to you yet. _His gut twisted painfully at the thought of Alex crying alone again, knowing how she felt about crying in front of other people. _So don't be a moron, moron... _

* * *

Fuyumi smiled and hummed to herself as she picked out clothes for her future-sister-in-law to wear. She was already planning out what Alex and Kyoya's children were going to look like after they get married. _Oh, what if it's a boy? I hope he doesn't turn out like that hard-head; Kyoya's as stubborn as a mule! _However being stubborn can be a good trait, especially in business. _Oh~ This is just so exciting, but... _She frowned and looked down, deep in thought. _How are they going to get through everything that just happened? She's clearly traumatized by all this... _Fuyumi felt completely useless.

She came from a family of _doctors _and yet she has no idea of how to help. How to help Alex, how to help her little brother... She turned her head when she saw the bathroom door open, Alex walking out with her head held low, a towel wrapped loosely around her small body. Fuyumi quickly dropped the clothes she was holding onto the bed and moved over, alarmed when she saw the girl. "Alex!" She cupped the girl's cheeks, slowly lifting her head so Fuyumi could get a better look at her face. "You were..." Alex's eyes were red and puffy, tear stains partially washed away due to the shower water. Her hair was _covered _in soap buds. "You didn't finish washing your hair, silly," Fuyumi told her softly, before gently guiding her back to the bathroom. "You can't face my brother like that." Her voice was motherly, but not stern or harsh. It was soothing.

Alex didn't put up an argument, feeling rather numb as of the moment. Her brown eyes were half-lidded, the girl looking like she was going to fall asleep at any moment. She got in the tub but kept the towel wrapped around her body as Fuyumi took down the shower head and turned the water back on. The Ootori girl calmly washed the shampoo out of Alex's hair with a small sorrowful smile.

"I'm glad I finally got to meet you," Fuyumi said after a long silence, trying to strike up conversation to get the girl's mind off of whatever it was she was thinking about. "Kyoya didn't tell me much about you; he always liked to keep secrets. I never expected it to be a secret about a _girl _though!" She tried for a tiny giggle, "I heard him yelling to himself about someone who frustrated him, because he couldn't figure out what she was hiding. To see him so passionate about something... it's the first time in years since I've seen him so mad. Tamaki called him then-telling him about how Haruhi and a girl named "Alex" were kidnapped by gypsies." She laughed, remembering the moment. Kyoya had frozen up and went complete still, eyes narrowed when he heard about Alex being in Karuizawa as well. "I followed him here, without his knowledge, and that was when I saw him... leaning over your form, holding onto your hand so tightly as if scared you were going to vanish if he let go." She rinsed out the shampoo, smiling a little when saw Alex lift her head up, hearing the woman's words.

"Kyoya... did?" Her voice sounded scratchy. Fuyumi assumed it was because she was crying earlier. Alex's shoulders shook a little. Fuyumi reached over and grabbed the conditioner, pouring some into her hand before rubbing it into Alex's hair. She leaned into Fuyumi's touch just the slightest, briefly enjoying the feel of something washing her hair.

"I almost couldn't believe it... My stubborn, hard-headed, thick-skulled, all-knowing baby brother... fussing over a girl. I asked him what you were like, and you know what he told me?"

Alex was silent, before asking quietly, "What?" Fuyumi washed out of the conditioner, before turning off the water and grabbing the last towel hanging off of the rack and drying Alex's hair with it. The girl responded like a child as Fuyumi did so, and the woman couldn't stop the happy smile forming on her face.

"He told me, "You would like her"." Alex lifted her head, towel hanging off of her face, and the girl slowly reached up and grabbed it with one hand, pulling it off of her head. Her eyes seemed to have just a little bit more life in them, curiosity and love getting the better of her. She looked so innocent, so hopeful, yet so sad at the same time. It killed Fuyumi a little inside, her heart breaking just a little for the young girl. "And you know what?" She said with another smile, placing a hand under Alex's chin and lifting her head up so they were locking eyes, "I think he's right; I approve of you and Kyoya." Alex's eyes widened. Fuyumi grinned, "I look forward to you sharing our last name. Now, let's get you all dried up and dressed! I have _just _the outfit for you!"

Alex's lips twitched upwards into a tiny smile, the girl seeming to hold back a laugh.

* * *

Akiko blinked, staring dumbly at the boy standing in her doorway. Kaoru shifted awkwardly, not sure what to say. He had came all the way here, prepared to ask her for advice of what to do and how to approach Alex, but now that he was here he had no idea what to do. "I..." He began, having to force the words out of his mouth. He swallowed and looked down, before shaking his head and asking, "Can I come in?" Akiko had to bite back a sarcastic retort, holding her tongue and fighting against every inch of her mind that told her to sit up straight and lace her fingers together. To be the perfect daughter. There was also the part of her mind that was screaming at her to be sarcastic, but she knew shouldn't.

It wasn't right. "Yeah... sure. Take a seat, I guess." She patted the spot on the bed next to her.

_"You are not allowed to be alone with a boy." _

Her "father's" words echoed in her mind. Ignoring all those lessons she asked as he sat down awkwardly next to her, "What is it, Kaoru?" The male hesitated, shadows covering his eyes for a moment before he looked at her. His gaze was so intense it was near-impossible to look away. "K-Kaoru?" Her heart beat a little faster, and told herself to remain focused. She couldn't tell if she was scared or nervous. He and Hikaru keep giving her these reactions and emotions she couldn't identify right away and it was starting to bother her.

"Alex..." He took a deep breath and said, "When it was storming... and you were out with Hikaru... Alex walked down the stairs by herself into the lobby where we were all waiting for your return. She was talking about how this man was after you... she was scared for you." His voice seemed to crack a little, his fingers digging into the bed sheets. His chest tightened at the memory, remembering how _sick _she looked. "She was dying and... and she went through all that, pushing herself to the limit, j-just to..." He bit his trembling bottom lip, breathing shakily as he tried to control himself, "Just to warn Hikaru about you being in danger. And then... her heart stopped beating, just for a minute." Akiko inhaled sharply, stunned. "Kyoya-Sempai... he wanted to call an ambulance, but Tamaki-Sempai said not to... because she'd merely be going through more pain."

As he told the story of what happened, he found himself choking back sobs, hating himself for ever even _doubting _Alex's feelings for him and his brother. For the Host Club. For her family... friends... He was such a horrible big brother.

"Y-yet... even when-even when she was dying she still went through the pain of moving... of talking... just to warn us about the danger. She-She wanted to make sure you were safe, before anything else. Alex..." His head was held low, so it seemed almost as if he was bowing to her. Akiko frowned, blinking away her own tears, and thought for a moment of how to comfort him before hesitantly reaching forward and wrapping her fingers around his hand, his knuckles white from how tightly he was gripping the sheets. He started, looking at her with surprised and confused eyes.

She remembered Hikaru's words, and how he said that just by being able to cry... being able to admit you're scared in front of other people is what makes you truly strong. Smiling through the pain was tough, but that meant you were merely bottling all the feelings inside, ready to burst at any given moment. You're hiding behind walls. Giving in and crying... showing other people you're hurting and afraid... that's the true measure of strength. Everyone was so much stronger than her... Akiko leaned forward and closed her eyes, resting her forehead against Kaoru's shoulder. "That's just how she is, Kaoru..."

She tried not to stiffen when she felt him wrap an arm around her, pulling her closer to him as he squeezed her hand tightly. "Why did I ever...? I shouldn't have doubted her. H-How could I do that to her?" Big brothers are supposed to protect their little sisters, aren't they? But when Alex explained everything, how she came to be here, he just grew so scared. What if everything was a lie? What if she just fabricated their relationships so she'd have shelter and food? But now... now thinking back on it, he was being stupid. Alex would _never _lie to them; she's not that kind of person. She's too nice for her own good... until you make her angry.

Akiko pulled away slightly when she felt Kaoru's chest rumble as he chuckled.

"Remember... remember the time when Hikaru and I stole Alex's notebook and sold it online? Or when we-when we caught her and Kyoya-Sempai in a compromising position and made fun of her? How she was chasing us around angrily with a beet red face?" He and Hikaru had found Kyoya pinning her to the sink with her trying to do the dishes.

The girl frowned, thinking about it, before her eyes widened. She pulled away, smirking as she looked in his eyes, "Mrs. Ootori", you called her." That had been in a better time, before everything turned so haywire. If things just go back in time... if only there was a rewind button. "She was _radiating _pure evil."

He laughed, sniffling a little as he remembered running for his life alongside his brother, "The Shadow Queen!"

"Don't forget the time when you guys made fun of her and she tripped over a chair?"

"Or when she had Kyoya-Sempai threaten us?"

"When she tried to catch that monkey who throws the banana's everywhere!"

Kaoru laughed loudly, feeling so much better now. All the funny and happy memories played in his head as they spoke, and slowly he started to regain the confidence he had lost. "I still don't understand why she calls it her "nemesis"." Akiko shrugged.

"Well, she can't be a damsel in distress, can she?" She then smirked devilishly, elbowing Kaoru lightly and causing him to shoot her a curious look, before his eyes widened at her next words, "After all, that's your's and Hikaru's job; my cute little damsels needing me to save the day." He flinched, suddenly remember the flower pot incident. She blinked in surprise at his reaction.

"I'm... really sorry about that." He still felt completely horrible. No one was meant to get hurt in that prank. He hadn't even noticed the girls opening the window when Akiko suddenly tackled him out of the way, screaming when the pot hit her back. "How does it feel? Does it still hurt?" All that blood... the image of her back flashed flashed through his mind, remembering how he and his brother plucked out all the broken shards. There were definitely going to be a couple of scars. It was all their fault... it was even worse, because Kaoru was the one who planned for the pot to fall. Hikaru comes up with ideas, but Kaoru is the one who figured out how to carry them out. No one else was meant to get dragged into the prank.

Akiko shook her head, "Not really; it's a little sore, but I'm fine. My ankle hurts more than anything at the moment." She held her leg out for him to see the make-shift splint Kyoya made for her. "Kyoya really _is _from a family of Doctors." A small smile tugged on Kaoru's lips.

"Yeah... Akiko, thank you." She turned her head and looked at him, confused suddenly.

"What for?"

"For making me feel better and... everything else." She blinked, before her silver eyes widened. She shook her head, not sure where to look as she tried to divert her gaze.

"Y-Yeah, well, don't let it get to you." Akiko finally seemed to remember she was still holding Kaoru's hand. She released it as if it were on fire, face a dark red, "I-It's not like I like you or anything! I only said that stuff so you'd stop moping and making that annoying face! It's-It's as bad as Hikaru when he starts whining when he doesn't get his way. You two are more trouble than you're worth!"

"You know... Kyoya-Sempai said that to Alex a lot of times." It's hard to believe it's only been a year... Kaoru gave her a tender smile, caramel eyes filled with warmth. "Thank you... I think I can face her now." Before she could say anything else, he suddenly leaned forward and kissed her forehead. He stood and left, looking at her one more time and grinning at her stunned red face before quickly closing the door behind him before she could register what happened.

"G-GET BACK HERE!"

_"Don't be afraid to show who you really are, because as long as you are happy with yourself, no one else's opinions really matter." _


	34. Forging Bonds Once Again: P2

_"We are all damaged in our own way; Nobody is perfect."_

_-Johnny Depp_

Alex lost track of what day it was. Friday, Saturday? Maybe it was even Wednesday. She sat there in the corner of the room listening to Fuyumi hum, watching the woman try in vain in an attempt to shove clothes back into their drawers. "Hey, Alex-or sister, as I should be calling you now," Fuyumi giggled, smiling. Alex's lips twitched upwards slightly, a tiny feeling of warmth blossoming in her chest at the kind words, "what's your favorite song?"

"I'm... not sure," She said quietly, fiddling with jacket that was wrapped around her waist. Fuyumi had pulled her bangs out of her face and to the side, clipping them back. Some strands hung loosely against the sides of her face and in her eyes, and it wasn't until then that Alex noticed how long her hair had grown. "I guess... _Thank You _by Jason Chen... or maybe _Marry Me _by Jason Derulo."

"Oh, I never heard of _Marry Me_... how does it go?" Alex frowned, biting her lip. She wasn't sure if she remembered.

"I think... it's like, "one hundred and five is the number that comes to my head... when I think of all the years I wanna be with you. Wake up every mornin' with you in my bed... that's exactly what I plan to do." What were the rest of the lyrics? Alex couldn't remember. She skipped ahead to another part of the song and said, Fuyumi listening intently with closed eyes and small smile, "And you know one of these days when I get my money right-buy you everything and show you the finer things in life. We'll forever be in love, so there ain't no need to rush...but one day, I won't be able to ask you loud enough "will you marry me"?" Alex smiled, feeling like she was going to cry.

She used to have thoughts in her head of marrying Kyoya... she still does sometimes. She knew it wouldn't work out because of their social status differences, and since she was dying she figured she could let him go and make him forget about her-let him move on and find someone else to care about. Let him be happy.

Turned out that plan was a fail and Kyoya was just so keen on staying with her. God, she loved that man. Scary as all hell, manipulative, possessive, and competitive... but kind and sweet, and he was just Kyoya. Alex felt like laughing. The memory of when they first met Renge played in her mind and she remembered how Renge was spouting out things about how "caring" and "sweet" Kyoya was, and everyone was just at a complete and total loss. If she only added in the darker traits, the traits that made Kyoya him...

Her chest ached. It hurt so much, Alex almost thought the pain was physical. However, she knew fully well that it was emotional.

"It sounds like a pretty song, Alex," Fuyumi said, wearing what seemed to be a knowing looking smirk. Alex looked at her in confusion, not understanding completely what the double-meaning was. Her brain was too tired to try and figure it out. "You know... with you being a Hitachiin now, one of the more influential families, father might just let you and Kyoya be together. And we can't forget that he's the third son, which means he has the least responsibility of all." Fuyumi blinked away tears that were forming in her eyes, her hands clutching the clothes she was holding tightly. For so long Kyoya had been doing everything he could to be better than his brothers-to impress his father and make him decide to let Kyoya become the heir to the company.

Years of wearing a mask, years of never asking for anything, never letting himself be selfish and give in to his (in the past) childish desires; years of being the perfect child designed to own a company... building up his intelligence in all subjects and exhausting himself to the point of collapse and making himself sick from stress and overworking himself. And now that he has something he wants-something he truly, desperately _wants_-no, _needs_... it somehow just kept slipping right from his fingertips, the male reaching forward ever so stubbornly still-not giving in until he had obtained his prize; his prize which he loved with all his being. The prize that brought him, _Kyoya Ootori_, down to his _knees _in despair. The youngest of all, the most burdened and manipulative, conniving and overlooked, the most... _kind _out of Fuyumi's puppets of brothers.

Maybe it was Fuyumi's influence that kept from becoming a cold-hearted person like Akito, or even Yuuichi-who is stern, and can be harsh with words, but means well for trying to look out for his family. He was married after all, with a wife and two children, so he had to have some form of kindness inside of him. Fuyumi, in the end, was the one to look after Kyoya while he was growing up-Yuuichi and Akito off and away with their father on business trips while little Kyoya was left at the mansion alone with the servants and bodyguards. Fuyumi often visited, to the displeasure of her father who insisted she go home to care for the household, and tried constantly to guide Kyoya on the right path.

However, due to their mother always being gone, and their father always looking down on Kyoya, the young boy had to grow up by the time he hit eleven. He learned that he was always going to be last place in his father's eyes, looked down upon by Akito, and thus grew distant-reading book, after book, after book, and taking extra classes and lessons, and even getting multiple private tutors in order to help him get a higher and much better education. He was, after all, the third son. Third place.

Not once has his father even given praise; Yoshio never smiled, never pat his head and said "good job" or "you did well".

And for this you could say Fuyumi was highly protective of her baby brother (despite being nearly an adult, Kyoya was always going to be her baby-her child) and was more than grateful for when Tamaki appeared in Kyoya's life. He brought... _life _and _challenge _into Kyoya's existence. His eyes actually brightened since Kyoya and Tamaki formed the Host Club-since Kyoya had tried to "befriend" Tamaki only to be driven mad by him. Oh, Fuyumi could still remember the day he ripped the living room apart. He was so _violent _when his feelings burst out of the bubble he hid them in, needing something to punch or vent on.

But now... her baby boy was all grown up. He was _smiling_ for the longest time during the past year, always when he thought no one was looking, and he'd often get this distant look in his eyes; Fuyumi knew that look. She herself wears that look frequently-the dreamy-eye look you get when you're thinking about someone you care deeply about... someone you love. She never pried, she never asked; Fuyumi just wanted this Kyoya to last-her brother was just so _happy_. Something must have finally gone right in his life...

...and then it happened. The phone call, Fuyumi finding out the person's name, the arrival to Karuizawa... Alex's death and revival, and the sacrifice of another. Everything had happened just so fast-Fuyumi still had trouble wrapping her head around it all. Kyoya, who had had his precious smile wiped off of his face, was sent spiraling into depression-having his heart torn out of his chest, stitched, crushed, and put back together again.

Alex stiffened, not knowing how to react when Fuyumi suddenly stopped what she was doing and moved over, hugging the young girl with her eyes squeezed shut. Fuyumi couldn't stop the tears-she was just so _pained_. Everyone... they were still so young, and to think they'd have to go through all of this?

The entire Host Club was on the verge of splitting up due to all the recent events; all the teenagers were picking sides and going against the one person who didn't do any wrong. Fuyumi had seen what had happened-she saw Alex _fighting_. She had seen Alex fighting desperately, screaming, crying, _begging _the stranger who looked so much like her to leave her be, to let Alex die. Alex knew from the start what that girl was planning and was trying to stop her-she had accepted her fate. Kyoya looked so _broken _when he thought Alex's heart had stopped...

"F-Fuyumi?" Alex stammered, blinking a couple times in confusion. She awkwardly raised her arms up and placed her hands on Fuyumi's back, asking, "What's wrong?"

Fuyumi shook her head, before slowly pulling away from Alex and cupping her face with her hands. Alex blinked again, completely lost and confused. Fuyumi's heart almost broke. The petite girl was still so young, but her eyes were so old... aged and tired, yet still glimmering with a child-like innocence and hope. Before they just looked completely lifeless...

_This _was Alex. _This _is the girl her brother wants to marry.

"Nothing is wrong, Alex. I just... want you to do me this one favor, alright?"

Alex furrowed her eyebrows together, opening her mouth and closing it-the scar on her jawline stretching as she jaw moved. She finally said, voice quiet, "O-Okay... what is it?"

"Make my brother happy. This..." Fuyumi closed her eyes and shook her head slowly, a sad smile stretching across her face. "I'm not even sure what happened down there, but... Neither of us, Kyoya or I, blame you for what happened." Alex's honey brown eyes widened, filled with guilt and sadness, protest against Fuyumi's words of it not being her fault.

Akari dying _was _Alex's fault; she should have tried harder.

But what _could _she have done? Alex had lost so much weight while she was sick-she still has trouble walking! She had no strength, no muscle or meat on her, nearly that resembling a skeleton. Alex had always risked her life for others without thinking about it, and now that someone had risked their life for hers... the guilt and pain was endless. Was _this _what she had put the twins through when they thought she drowned? Was _this _how Kyoya felt when he thought she died at the beach that day? Useless, hopeless, unable to save anyone...

If Alex had fought harder... if she was _stronger-_but she was too weak to even lift a finger. It felt almost alien just breathing normally again-her breath always having been irregular and painful, wheezing and coughing on a daily basis. Akari... why? _Why _would you do this?

Alex had to blink away the tears that were forming, inhaling deeply. Her chest hurt-a weight pressing down on it. She wasn't able to respond.

"Alex... that girl, she gave her life to _save _you-giving you another chance. Live your life to the fullest, and with the person you care about, okay?" Alex's bottom lip trembled, remembering back to the day in the rose garden when she promised Kyoya something similar. "Alex?"

She couldn't take it. So long-so _long _of keeping it bottled inside, so _long _of smiling and hiding the pain from everyone, crying herself to sleep; Alex felt like she was going to burst. "I-I can't-!" She pulled away from Fuyumi's gentle and motherly hold, practically screaming as she turned her side to Fuyumi and put her hands against her head, "I can't make _anyone _happy! I _killed _her! I'm hurting everyone and-and I-!" She choked, sobbing as she wiped frantically at the tears that were falling. She shook her back-and-forth, trying to find her voice as she broke down. "I-I try to help and-and I only hurt! You don't understand! I..." Her voice left, the girl shaking violently, sniffling multiple times and whimpering as she tried to stay quiet, but the pain and guilt being too much for her to bear.

She used to be only child, her parents despising her for being born a girl. She took refuge in the people she called siblings and friends-but now she can't even _remember _them; their faces, their names-the memories they shared together. They were all gone.

Ever since she arrived here in Japan, her memory of her past had been degrading, only ever able to remember the memories she made _here_-with family who cared and friends who noticed. Alex was never invisible here... but now all she ever wanted to do was hide.

She was a _monster_. A hideous, disgusting, _murderer _who hurt and betrayed the one person who mattered to her most. She had lied, thinking that he wouldn't find out and would no longer care about her, hoping that her actions would bring him a happy end even with her death. Instead it led to hurt and regret and despair.

He was _crying _over her. Alex. Ayumu Hitachiin.

"I _hurt _him, Fuyumi. I-I hurt Kyoya." The door opened just as she muttered those words, the stunned male standing there in the doorway with surprised eyes, a tray of food held in right hand. Alex barely turned her head before she froze, gray-violet meeting brown. Their eyes locked and Alex felt more vulnerable than ever in that moment, as if he had heard the entire conversation, seeing through her and into all her dark thoughts. Alex opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She closed her mouth, tense.

The atmosphere was heavy. Fuyumi stood and released Alex, looking between her and Kyoya, before quickly excusing herself out of the room and saying, "I'll let you two talk," quietly. Kyoya watched her leave out of the corner of his eye before locking the door-not wanting anyone to disturb their conversation- and set the tray of food on the nightstand.

Alex felt like a cornered animal at this point. She couldn't move-she was frozen in place.

Kyoya moved over to her calmly, kneeling down in front of her and placing a hand on the wall beside her head, keeping himself balance and Alex trapped in case she decided to run away. Their eyes met, and Alex was unable to divert her gaze thanks to the intensity of his stare. "How are you feeling?" He asked calmly, almost scaring Alex with how he was behaving. It had been a while since she saw him like this... since he had her cornered against a wall, ready to interrogate her for answers.

She swallowed thickly, feeling her heart pound loudly in her chest. She was so scared by his composed demeanor that she was about to start crying again. She awkwardly stammered, "I-I'm fine..."

He raised an eyebrow at her, clearly not believing her, and seemed to find her answer rather amusing. "Is that so? If that's the case..." Her left eye closed in response to his thumb brushing the tears off of her cheek. "Then what are these? Why are your eyes so red, Alex? You're not _lying _to me again, _are you_?" His voice deepened, sending both good _and _bad chills down her spine. It was almost as if she had been hit with electricity, an electric shock going throughout her whole body. Alex flinched.

She knew what Kyoya was doing. He was trying to manipulate her... play on her feelings and get her to react. "I..."

He grabbed her chin gently and lifted her head up, forcing her to look at him. Alex couldn't _not_-she hated it, but everything about Kyoya attracted her attention and despite not wanting to, she found herself meeting his gaze again. Another jolt. Something was squeezing her heart. It hurt. After a minute of having a staring contest, Kyoya sighed and closed his eyes. Alex stiffened and went complete still when he suddenly leaned over and rested his forehead against her shoulder, the male falling down to his knees and trapping her against him with both hands on either side of her on the wall. "...You really have no idea what it is you do to me, do you?"

She tried to ignore the lovely deep and low tone of his voice, and the smell of his hair. The fact that he was this _close _to her after so long... the fact that just looking at him or knowing he was near sent her heart dancing. Alex swallowed and lifted her head up, staring at him awkwardly out of the corner of her eyes. "Wh-What do you mean?" Alex wasn't sure of how to interact with people anymore, having spent so long away from the world. She sat there uncomfortably, trying not to move with Kyoya using her shoulder as a pillow.

Kyoya slowly raised his head, eyes half-lidded as he stared at her. Her breathing hitched, becoming slightly uneven. Alex's face turned a little red.

"K-Kyoya?"

"Alex..."

"Y-Yeah?"

His eyes were temporarily hidden by his glasses, something that caused goosebumps to run along Alex's arms. She repressed a shiver. His face was so close to hers. Alex briefly had a thought of closing the distance and kissing him- missing his touch, his warmth, his care... but resisted. It wasn't the time or the place, and... she had hurt him. In ways unimaginable. Alex didn't deserve him. She was far too horrible a person. Alex squeezed her eyes shut, trying to rid her mind of the cruel thoughts. Ever since Akari's death, her mind has just been tormenting her, refusing to relent and show mercy.

She felt something soft press against her forehead and her eyes shot open in surprise, stunned.

Kyoya's nose brushed against hers lightly, and she could just barely feel his glasses touching her skin. "I'm not ever going to let you leave my side again." Alex was speechless. "Alex Connors... Ayumu Hitachiin..." He addressed her by both of her names and Alex watched, almost alarmed, when he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small box, opening it and revealing a small golden ring with a tiny amethyst in the middle, "Will you marry me?"

"I..." She didn't know what to say. What _could _she say? Her face then twisted into that of conflict, eyebrows furrowing and bottom lip sticking out in both a frown and a pout. "Why... How am I supposed to answer that?" Her voice trembled, but Kyoya's gaze did not waver. He did not close the box or lower his hand, he did not move away. He stayed in place, confident and stubborn. "I... I _hurt _you and... why? Why would you ask me that after everything I put you through?" She looked ready to cry again. This whole... however long it had been, has been just one emotional rollercoaster after the next and _now_-now this... She was happy, but... How? Why? After all she did... "Why-Why would even consider..." Her voice cracked, "Why would you even considering marrying... _me?_"

"Is it that hard to figure out, Alex?" Kyoya asked, despite knowing _why _she was responding this way. And once again... a small smile formed, loving and heartbreaking at the exact same time. Kyoya had told these words to Tamaki when he admitted his feelings for Alex, left in a fit of rage and despair. Admitting them to her in person was a whole different story, but they needed to be said. Kyoya had waited far too long to say them, and because of that they were in this situation now. Broken... pained... in despair. Clinging to another one desperately all the while pushing each other way, wanting to trust but being unable. Kyoya cupped her face with his hands, knowing that once he said this the deed would be done, and neither would be able to go back.

This stupid girl had stripped Kyoya of his mask completely, leaving him vulnerable and exposed to the world-overflowing with these huge flurry of emotions. Sometimes it was suffocating, but... he wouldn't trade for anything. He felt horrible, but if Akari hadn't done what she did Kyoya wouldn't be with Alex now...

"I love you."

Alex's heart nearly stopped. She had always wanted to hear those words come out of his mouth, but had come to accept the reality that they never would. And now... A new wave of tears fell, these ones happy, and a shaky smile spread across Alex's lips as she tried to wipe her tears away. Why-_Why _is it only after all this... _torture _does good things happen?

Everyone hated her now, and yet... Kyoya still accepted her. Even after all she did. After she put him through so much pain. Alex was a horrible person and yet... "I-I love you, too, Kyoya." She met his gaze, trembling, and gave a warm smile.

With that, Kyoya knew her answer. Alex had said all he needed to know.

He pulled the ring out of the box and grabbed her hand, gently sliding it onto her ring finger. Alex watched, almost entranced by the new promise, and once the ring was on completely Alex didn't bother wasting another second and leaned forward, grabbing onto Kyoya's sleeve and pulling him closer to her as she kissed him. Kyoya's rested a hand on one of her knees, his other resting gently on the back of her head.

The kiss stayed innocent for a few moments, before desire took over and the kiss deepened. Kyoya had pulled his glasses off during this, resting them in his shirt pocket. "You are _mine_, Alex..." He whispered, voice low as they broke apart. Alex's face was already flushed, but turned even redder at his words. "And...," His own face turned a little pink as he admitted, "you're worth the trouble."

Alex couldn't help but grin a little at his words, touched. She said, "Careful-you're giving me blackmail here, Kyoya."

"The only blackmail you have is the ring on your finger."

"Exactly." The cheeky grin spread across her face and Kyoya smirked, loving the sight. Warmth blossomed in his chest and his heart beat a little faster. As annoying as these feelings used to be, Kyoya accepted them. He wanted them to last. Kyoya tucked some stray hairs behind Alex's ear, leaning forward and kissing her on the tip of the nose. She blinked and her face went an even darker shade of red.

Kyoya wasn't hiding his amusement anymore. He cupped her chin and lifted her head up, bringing their faces close and saying in a deep voice, "But I still have even more ways to get to you if you attempt to blackmail me, isn't that right?" He purred at her, giving a shit-eating-grin. Her face-Alex's face went _so _red Kyoya almost thought she was going to faint. She was just too cute.

She stammered incoherently, trying to come with a response but the words dying on her lips.

"I know all of your weak points, _darling_." No sound came out of her, her jaw merely dropping as her eyes went wide as dinnerplates. Oh, Kyoya was _loving _this. How long he sought to see that expression again-her smile, her eyes, her childish pout... Her look of being completely dumbstruck. "You wouldn't want to get on my bad side, now would you? Just think of the _punishment_."

Kyoya was being completely innocent, but knew from the mere look on Alex's face that she was thinking something else. He was using her dirty mind to his advantage-payback for everything she made him feel during her time sick. He may love her, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want some revenge now and then.

He kissed her once more, thoroughly, and by the time he pulled away Alex could barely breathe. He decided to stop teasing her for now, not wanting her to actually pass out.

And for now, just for a little while, they managed to forget about everything that made them hurt. Being here, together, as an actual couple instead of some secret that had to keep... they were the only ones in the world at that moment. It wouldn't last, but it was happiest moment they had since all of this had started.

_"Nothing is more beautiful than a real smile that has struggled through tears."_


	35. AN: REWRITE LOVE AFTER DEATH

So... let's face it. It has been a LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG since I updated this story. Life and... well, other things got in the way basically. XD Other fanfictions, too. And I have no idea how to continue writing this or at the very least where to pick-up, and since the beginning half of the story is so badly written by my-what? Thirteen-year-old self? How old was I when I started writing this? I know I'm seventeen now... AGH~ Whatever.

POINT IS I SHALL BE REWRITING THIS! Which means there will probably be another story, but it shall be labeled, "Love Me To The End". Or probably "Love After Death".

Most likely be Love After Death. I like the sound of that one. Makes sense, really. XD Ahhh~ Well, you guys can either hate me or love me, I know I love you guys, but if you shoot me the story can't continue, so~ (Holds up Captain America's shield while dressed like Iron Man)

I'll try to get the new story up soon. I'm already working on the prologue. The writing style should be consistent, plot holes should be fixed up, and a _heck _ton of more detail! Woo~

If we're lucky I'll get Ch.1 Up tonight. But I'm really sick so that's a problem. Blegh, life.

BUT I'M SUPER SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG I LOVE YOU GUYS PLEASE DON'T KILL ME~ T_T


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